Cruel and Unusual Punishment
by Vamptramp83
Summary: After spending most of their supernatural existence apart, Stefan and Damon Salvatore return to Mystic Falls in order to finally get their revenge on the Petrova bloodline. What happens, however, when one of the brothers gets in over his head, and falls in love with the enemy that he is supposed to kill? Strong M rating/smut/blood/violence/language. Damon/Elena pairing!
1. Prologue: Brothers In Arms

_**Cruel and Unusual Punishment**_

"_Crimes of Passion Never Go Unpunished."_

_A dark tale of love, lust, pain and the unbreakable bond of blood._

_A Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction by _

_VampTramp83_

_**Please Note:**__** No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and original plots, storylines, and all other wonderful credit belong to L.J. Smith and The CW Network.**_

_**A/N:**__** I have written Vampire Diaries fan fiction for quite some time, but thought that I would try putting it out there to see how it is received and see what other fans of the show think of my writing and ideas. This fiction is meant to begin where the show originally started in Season 1, but start in a much different way. This fiction is much darker than the show, but will eventually come to light just as the characters themselves usually always seem to. Please note the following important points in this fiction: This time frame begins with Senior year, instead of Junior year. Damon is very Season 1. He is still fairly cold towards others, desperate, conniving, and has very little appreciation for human life. He is still however, Damon, and therefore he loves recklessly and completely with all of his heart. Stefan is more along the lines of Season 3. He is back on human blood, angry, and has for the most part flipped the switch on his humanity. Elena is of course very Season 1 in the beginning and is incredibly naive and innocent. Lastly, in this fiction the Salvatore's have found out that Katherine is still alive, but they do not know everything about her life or the full extent of her betrayal. Both brothers are still incredibly angry, bitter, and feel scorned by someone that they loved so much. This fiction is rated a VERY STRONG M. There will be a lot of smut, blood, adult language and content, and enough yumminess to hopefully keep everyone thoroughly engaged as well as interested in the plotline. This fiction is told from the POV of the three main characters, mostly Damon and Elena's, but occasionally from Stefan's as well. That should just about cover it for now, please read and review and let me know what you think. Thank you and I hope you like! :)**_

_**Prologue: Brothers In Arms**_

"_He is my most beloved friend and my bitterest rival, my confidant and my betrayer, my sustainer and my dependent, and scariest of all, my equal." _

_**~ Gregg Levoy**_

_**Damon's POV:**_

Humidity hung heavy in the early morning air around me as I found myself staring out of the thick dirt covered windshield of my midnight blue Camaro, and watching carefully as steam rose steadily off of the sidewalk in front of me in thick sheets of beautiful vapor, just before disappearing into the suffocating August heat as quickly as it had come. A gentle late-summer breeze blew softly through the tall red oak trees that were scattered over the lush landscape just a few feet away from where I sat studying them, and the heavy scent of freshly cut grass wafted in slowly through the small gap in my car's open window, quickly reminding me of the mundane simplicity of the sheltered little world that I had left behind so long before. After a few moments of losing myself in my casual day dreaming, I finally turned my attention from the simple workings of nature before me, and began to focus in on the few hundred teenagers that were filing in from the lot around me and making their way quickly toward the quaint one level brick high school building that the last time that I had been in that sleepy little town, hadn't even existed.

To the uneducated eye, life in the small town of _Mystic Falls_ would have appeared to be much different today than it had been over one hundred years before when I had called this miserable excuse for a community my home, but I was far from an uneducated man. Although there now stood over twice as many businesses and homes than there had been in the past, even most of the new businesses that had sprung up over the years were still run by the same egotistical idiots that had owned the majority of the wealth back in my day. Teenagers now might have been dressing in a much different fashion than they used to, listening to far more vulgar (and much more to my liking) types of music, and preparing for college instead of marriage, but they still had the same blind obedience to their close minded parents that even I had succumbed to at their completely idiotic and innocent young age. The minutes passed by me like seconds as I watched the familiar characteristics of my old family and friends move past me on the faces of the newest stock of offspring that this small Virginia town had to offer, and I couldn't help but laugh quietly to myself as I watched them study my unknown car as if it were some sort of spaceship that had just landed suddenly in front of them. I smiled as I eventually caught the eye of a petite young blond girl who seemed enthralled by the mysterious man sitting in the vintage car that none of them had ever seen before, and I couldn't help but wink flirtatiously at her as I caught a glint of excitement flood through her innocent bright blue eyes. _It would be best for you to run, Blondie. I would eat you for breakfast._

"Quit eye-fucking the students, Damon. We are supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember?" The once completely silent second occupant of my car asked from my passenger seat as he pushed his fingers quickly through his overly gelled copper colored hair, and then rolled his eyes dramatically in my direction. I smiled sarcastically as I turned my attention from the appetizing blond that stood still just a few feet away from me, and then shrugged my shoulders innocently.

"I'm just being polite to the good folks of _Mystic Falls_, Stefan. You know how I love to be active with the youth, and all." I said as I licked my lips and then slowly turned my attention to the other delicious young bodies that were flooding in toward the school faster with every passing second, and causing my mouth to water in complete undeniable hunger. _I should have stopped for a drink before I came this morning._

"Yeah, well you are here for a much greater purpose than just snacking on high schoolers. I need you to be focused on this, Damon. If we don't do this right, we could lose our one shot at finally ending this." Stefan said intensely as he straightened up slightly in his seat and cleared his throat anxiously. I rolled my eyes as I nodded mindlessly in his direction, but still could not completely force myself to pay full attention to his incessant rambling. After all of these years, I still could not quite understand how my brother and I had come from the same bloodline (both human and supernatural), and yet had turned out to be so completely different in almost every single way imaginable. Simply waking up in the morning seemed to make Stefan nervous for Christ Sakes, and now he was trying to facilitate something that seemed dangerous even to me, but yet had the unmitigated audacity to act as if I were the liability in this incredibly fucked up situation even though I was the only one in the car that was not in the middle of a mild panic attack.

"Relax, baby bro. I am completely focused and ready to hear more about this insane plan that you so rudely took me away from New Orleans in order to help you with. Now please, show me where this so called _doppelganger_ is so that I can get out of here before the villagers come after me with pitch forks…again." I replied sarcastically with a smirk as I motioned over the muddled crowd of cookie cutter students in front of me, waiting for my brother to finally admit that he had been completely wrong in the assumption that he had made over a month before that had drug me back to this human wasteland that I had so carefully avoided ever since the turn of the last century.

"I am perfectly relaxed, Damon. And, you should know better than anyone that I wouldn't have called you out here if I had any doubt in my mind about who this girl was. I have happily avoided your presence for over the past fifty years, brother. I wouldn't have asked you to come here if I wasn't completely certain that she was the real thing." Stefan replied tightly as he narrowed his eyes toward the crowd before us and then began searching diligently for the girl in question. I nodded as I finally decided to bite my tongue, and then actually took into account my brother's very accurate words.

It had been nearly fifty years since the last time that I had seen my brother, and if we were everyday humans with ordinary lives, I would have agreed with anyone that was definitely a very long time. However, my brother and I were far from human and our lives were anything but ordinary. As humans, Stefan and I had been incredibly close. We had shared a deep bond ever since childhood, and once our mother had passed away when we were young and we were left to be cared for mainly by my father's household staff, that bond had become even more intensified. I was the older Salvatore son by quite a few years, and also just happened to have been the thorn in my father's side ever since I could remember. Stefan had been loved and doted on as the responsible and kind hearted child that was expected to achieve great things, and even though I had always been jealous of the love that it felt as if I had never received, I had too loved my younger sibling with all of my heart. However, life had changed drastically once I returned home from war as a young man, and ever since then things have never been the same between my brother and I. It was the same year that I had returned back to the Salvatore Plantation that Katherine Pierce had showed up and ruined the years of brotherhood that Stefan and I had built over our lifetime. It took nearly eighteen years for us to build the trust that we had for each other when she had first climbed out of that carriage so long ago, and nearly no time at all for her to destroy it all with a single touch of her soft but yet deadly cold hand.

"As I said, brother, show me your doppelganger. I have things to do, tick tock." I said sarcastically as I attempted to pull myself out of my own mind and back to the conversation that I was supposed to be having with my once beloved younger brother.

"What could you possibly have to do that is more important than this, Damon? I'm sure that the strippers in Louisiana will still be there in a few months." Stefan replied tensely as he turned his body slightly toward me, and then tilted his head to the side in sarcasm. I mirrored his expression as he stared at me, and then pressed my lips together into a hard line as I pretended to think.

"Well, I did meet a very hot little thing named Tanya that tasted like red wine, and she could do this thing with her tongue that…." I started as my lips twisted into a grin just before Stefan raised his hand signaling for me to stop. I nodded as I shrugged my shoulders and then licked my lips slowly.

"I really don't need those kinds of details, Damon." He said quickly as he shook his head in disbelief at my vulgar language. I smiled as I watched him fidget beside me. _If he thought that was dirty, he really didn't want to know what her friend could do._

"Actually, getting out of there was probably a good thing considering the last conversation that I had with her." I said as I looked down at the clock in my car and noticed that the high school's first bell was due to ring in just about ten short minutes.

"Why? What was the conversation about?" Stefan asked as he looked at me with an over exaggerated amount of fake interest, and as always just a slight amount of contempt. I leaned my head back against my seat as I tried to suppress the smile that begged to break out over my lips at the thought of my last interaction with Tanya, and then cleared my throat formally.

"She accused me of getting her pregnant." I said slowly as I felt a devilish grin finally take over my lips just as I turned my head toward Stefan who was staring at me in complete and total shock. Finally, he narrowed his eyes and raised one of his thick brows at me as if I had gone completely insane.

"She…said you got her pregnant? Damon…" Stefan started, but of course he realized before he had even begun his lecture that he did not need to give me the birds and the bee's speech when it came to vampire human sex. _Or any sex for that matter._

"Oh, don't worry Stefan. You won't be an uncle any time soon. Poor sweet little Tanya was anemic due to my insatiable hunger, and therefore she hadn't gotten her period in a while, so I simply told her to take iron and stop hanging out in the alley's downtown. I highly doubt that she will listen to me though, she was a sucker for a bad boy." I answered sarcastically with a smile as I fondly remembered my first lust filled night with Tanya, and then winked flirtatiously at my brother. Stefan rolled his eyes as he finally turned his head back in the direction of the school, and then quickly went back to his stalking of Katherine's supposed human twin.

"Alright, enough with the jokes and snide comments that I could honestly do without. I only brought you down here because I needed you to know who she was, and I want us to be on the same page about everything so that this doesn't drag out any longer than it has to." He said in an annoyed tone as he continued scanning the crowd around my car from the woman in question. I nodded as I attempted to look interested in my brother's incredibly poorly thought out plan, and then eventually shrugged my shoulders.

"If she is who you say she is, Stefan, it shouldn't be hard to find her. I just look for the girl that looks exactly like the cunt that destroyed our lives. Seems easy enough to me." I quipped back sarcastically as I waited for Stefan to finally point out the girl that had been the reason that he had called me nearly a month before in a panic over, and now had subsequently been obsessively plotting against ever since.

"Yes, while it might be easy to find her, you should also probably know a little bit about her as well, Damon. First of all, her name is Elena Gilbert. Her parents died last summer in a car accident on Wickery Bridge, and she now lives with her brother and her aunt. She is a senior honor roll student on the cheerleading squad, and has been at the top of her class ever since she was in kindergarten. For the past three years she has been dating the same overly optimistic football player that she has known ever since she was in diapers, but a few weeks ago they had a falling out and she just so happens to now be completely single." Stefan said in an overly proud tone which led me to believe that he had something to do with little Miss Teen Queen's breakup, but at that point in the conversation I honestly didn't care enough about the idiotic teenage drama to even ask. There was only one word circling around in my head completely controlling my thoughts as my brother finally ended his sentence; and that word was _Gilbert._

Over one hundred and forty years before, when I had still lived in the incredibly small town that I now once again unfortunately sat in, _Mystic Falls_ had been primarily run by not the usual local government that was supposed to be in charge of it, but instead by a handful of founding families that governed the town silently behind closed doors. Of those founding families, there were five in particular that held the majority of the power in town, and therefore were the only ones that ever truly interested me. First, there were the Lockwood's. They were a snobby horrible little clan that thought that their shit didn't stink, and that since they were the only physical face of the local government to be seen, that they could do no absolutely no wrong. Then, there were the Fell's. They were a very religious family that even though they did not practice exactly what they preached, believed that if you did not live in the exact way that they recommended, that you would burn in the fiery depths of hell…or possibly even in their very own church if matters became bad enough. Thirdly, there were the Forbes'. They were a small simple enough family that enforced the law around the town and therefore quickly became the bane of my existence as soon as they created a town wide curfew that they swore was to protect the young and impressionable, but instead just seemed to be an excuse for the town council to hunt vampires without the rest of the community knowing what they were doing. Next, there were the Salvatore's. _We_ (yes, my murderous younger brother and I were part of one of the founding families) were extremely wealthy businessmen, and pretty damn reputable ones at that. Among the other businesses that my family owned, we were in control of the town's mill as well as having a heavy hand in the area's banking which I was still happily seeing a profit from after all of these years. We were strong, bull headed and of course incredibly savvy when it came to money. _Too bad most of us lacked the common sense needed to keep one alive._

The last of the _Mystic Falls_ founding families, were of course, the Gilbert's. They were…well they were said to be completely and totally insane. Jonathon Gilbert, the only one that I cared to pay any attention to at the time, was a stark raving mad scientist that created a device to detect vampires and therefore helped to start what was by far the worst (and subsequently also the last) day of my human life. He, Thomas Fell, William Forbes, Benjamin Lockwood, and of course my dear old Papa Salvatore were five of the main men who were responsible for locking up over twenty vampires into the small confines of _Fell's Church_, and then burning it happily to the ground as they all sat back and cheered in victory. What the simple minds of the founding men did not know however, was that a sharp tongued little witch by the name of Emily Bennett just so happened to have sealed those vampires that they had locked up beneath the church into a tomb that would keep them safe from their final deaths, and what I didn't know was that one of those vampires just so happened to have escaped…and never ever fucking returned again.

"Damon?" My brother's voice echoed in my mind suddenly jolting me back to reality and out of my silent stroll down memory lane. I cleared my throat roughly as I finally turned my attention back toward Stefan and then faked an interested smile.

"Yes brother, I know. Stay focused and don't fuck or kill everything that moves. I've got this, Stefan." I said in a tense tone as I lifted my eyes back toward Stefan's and then attempted to shake the eerie feeling from my bones that being back in that God forsaken town had stirred in me. Stefan shook his head as he lifted his hand slowly and then pointed casually out of the windshield ahead of him.

"No, Damon. What I said was; there she is." He said as he motioned in front of him toward the back of the school just in front of the large double doors of the gymnasium, where a group of what appeared to be very popular teenagers stood conversing amongst themselves.

Slowly, my eyes focused in on the small gathering of students, only about one hundred feet away from where I sat, and in an instant it felt as if the air had been sucked completely out of the car around me. The wind that had been blowing through the trees only moments before seemed to suddenly still, and the sound of the hundreds of conversations going on around me quickly melted into complete and total nothingness. My grip tightened on the steering wheel that I found myself suddenly clutching desperately in my tensed hands as I stared out of the thick misty glass of my windshield at the girl who up until that moment, I had been sure had never even existed. I watched in a stunned silence as the tortuously beautiful figure before me laughed among a group of what I assumed to be her friends, and then carelessly tossed her long chocolate brown hair over one of her slim shoulders causing it to cascade down her back in a dark thick sheet of pure silk. Her long luscious legs were barely covered by her short crimson cheerleading skirt, and the olive-colored skin of her abdomen peaked out just slightly from under the tight cheerleading top that I was damned sure her father had to lose sleep over every night that she wore it. Her flesh appeared soft and mouthwatering even from as far away from her as I was and even though I knew that it should have been impossible, I could somehow feel her heartbeat radiating through me like a tribal drum that pushed my borrowed blood faster through my system with every hypnotic move that she made. I couldn't stop myself from imagining what it would feel like to sink my sharp teeth deep into her tender young flesh, and then taste her pulse pounding excitedly against my hungry lips as her sweet crimson blood ran down my practically starving throat. For a moment, it was as if I had already tasted her and claimed her as my own. I could almost see the imprint of my jagged animalistic vampire teeth on her pristine untouched skin, and feel the slight tug of her hand in my hair as she reluctantly begged me for more even though the pain that I caused her drew blood-curdling screams from her full sensuous rose colored lips. For a moment, the game was already over, and I had her, but in a second that moment was gone.

"Damon?" Stefan's voice broke into my fantasies and quickly pulled me back into the car that I still physically sat in. I turned toward my brother and watched as concern flooded through his nervous emerald colored eyes at the intensity of my reaction to the victim that he had so carefully selected and that he had been obsessing over for the past thirty days.

"You'd better get inside Stefan; you wouldn't want to miss homeroom." I said quickly as I licked my dry lips, and desperately attempted to keep my eyes on my brother and not on the girl who seemed to be pulling my eyes back to her almost unwillingly. _I had to get the fuck out of there, now._

"Don't deflect brother, get it together. You need to be in this all the way for this plan to work." Stefan said defiantly as he continued to nervously study my expression, and silently judge my possible risk of treachery. I nodded slowly, and then eventually tilted my head slightly to the side as I finally did actually give my attention to my younger (and incredibly naïve) brother.

"And, what is your plan exactly, Stefan? I remember hearing on the phone all about settling the score and what not, but I never once heard an actual plan of attack. I understand wanting to close old wounds, but you are going to need more than just bitterness to actually get this done." I said inquisitively as I narrowed my eyes at my brother knowing full well that of the two of us, he definitely was not the man to be heading up something as serious as this.

"I have much more than just bitterness, Damon. My plan is simple, and it is exactly what we agreed on all those years ago when we originally found out that Katherine had never even been in that tomb in the first place, and that the possibility of a doppelganger was actually real. We are going to go after this Elena Gilbert, and we are going to destroy her. Once word gets back to Katherine that her precious little human clone is in danger, she will be back in this town before we can even blink an eye. That little Gilbert bitch over there has been one of the only distractions that Katherine has had going for her when it comes to Klaus or any of the other Originals for that matter. If she thinks that she is in danger, she will come back to protect her, and then we will kill both her and Elena before either one of them even realizes what is happening. The Petrova bloodline will be dead by the end of the year, Damon. This whole fucking mess will finally be over, and we will never have to see that bitch's face ever again." Stefan said desperately as he stared at me with intense eyes. I studied his expression as I processed what he had said in my mind, and then licked my lips slowly before I spoke.

"How is there even a human Petrova blood line to speak of, Stefan? Katherine did not have any children. Where the hell did this Elena even come from?" I asked trying to talk myself out of the lust driven and completely murderous plans that were already forming inside of my deranged mind when it came to both Katherine and her beautiful counterpart that still stood just slightly out of my reach. Stefan licked his lips as he shook his head and then finally smiled.

"Katherine wasn't exactly the epitome of virtue, Damon. She must have had a child out of wedlock before she was turned. It isn't that hard to put the pieces together." He explained as if I was the idiot in this situation. I nodded as I finally let out a breath and then cocked my head toward the human version of Katherine standing still just a few quick vampire steps away from my hungry lips.

"And so according to your plan, we are going to torture and eventually kill this innocent girl in order to get to Katherine. Once we get to Katherine, then we are going to politely say hello after all of these years, and then we are going to kill her as well?" I asked in both sarcasm and confusion as I mulled over my brother's completely psychotic plan in my head. Stefan leaned back against his seat and sighed quietly to himself.

"You really think that she is that innocent, Damon? She is a decedent of Katherine, and a fucking Gilbert for Christ Sakes. This is our chance to kill two birds with one stone." He said coldly with the hint of desperation still flooding his voice. I narrowed my eyes at my brother as I finally smiled at him in utter amazement.

"This doesn't sound like you, Stef. Killing the innocent, settling scores, and generally going against that incredibly large moral compass that you have judged me with for over the past hundred and forty-five years. How long have you been back on the good stuff?" I asked sarcastically as I recognized the classic traits of my brother being on another blood bender, and obviously off of his Bambi diet that made me want to gag even at the thought of. Stefan shrugged his shoulders as he looked back out of his window and quickly avoided my eyes.

"What I am feeding on has absolutely nothing to do with this, Damon. This is about revenge and about finally ending what Katherine started when she fucked us over a hundred and forty years ago. That bitch destroyed us. Elena might look sweet and innocent, but so did Katherine when we first met her. We have the chance to finally end that horrific abomination of a bloodline, and get on with our lives. We can do this, Damon. We can do this as brothers." He pleaded desperately and as much as I hated to admit it, that was all it took. The look in my brother's eyes, the tone of his voice, and the flood of painful memories that rushed through my brain at the sight of Katherine's beautiful face in the form of that pathetic human standing laughing with her friends as if she didn't have a care in the world. Stefan was right; it was time to end this.

"And we will do this as brothers. Elena won't make it to Homecoming, and Katherine will be soon to follow." I said tightly as repressed anger and pain surged rapidly through my veins. Stefan nodded in a silent victory as I could tell that the look on my face solidified my allegiance to his still obviously psychotic cause, and clearly drew the battle lines deeply into the ground beneath us. Slowly after holding my stare for a few seconds longer, he finally reached into the back seat and retrieved his messenger bag from the floor. He nodded toward me in silence, and then opened the passenger side door just before swiftly stepping out onto the pavement and within seconds was walking into the school. I let out the breath that I had been holding for the past few minutes, and then quickly threw my car into reverse without even looking behind me. I kept my eyes focused on the main road beside me, and then floored it out of the parking lot and far away from Katherine's ghost back toward what used to be my home.

About an hour later, I finally found myself sitting in one of my favorite overstuffed leather lounge chairs in the center of the Salvatore Boarding House parlor with a glass of bourbon in my hand, and my head reclined back against the cool leather upholstery beneath me. Sure, nine o'clock in the morning might have been considered a little early to drink by some, but considering how long I had been around for, I figured that this was a drink that was long overdue. I slowly sipped the smooth brown liquid into my hungry mouth, and then reveled in the slow burn that it left as it slid down my aching throat. Bourbon had been my drink of choice ever since I had been turned, and I had always loved the strong taste that it had left in my mouth even after my glass was empty. It reminded me of blood with its warmth and thickness, but unlike blood, it simply ignited my thirst, never quite quenched it.

Once I had finished my drink, I finally stood and made my way into the library just down the hall from my home's formal parlor. I moved around the room for a few minutes as if I didn't know what it was that I was looking for, but then after a few useless minutes of wandering, I finally found myself standing in front of one of the tall oak bookcases with my fingers between two books that I hadn't touched in almost fifty years. Slowly, I slid my index finger between the dusty leather bindings in front of me, and then gently pulled a worn watermarked picture into my slightly shaking right hand. After a momentary hesitation, I eventually looked down at the picture that I held, and took it in completely as if I had never seen it before. It was a picture of Katherine taken just a few days before the night that she had been taken in chains into _Fell's Church_ at the hands of not only Elena's family, but also my very own as well. Katherine looked beautiful and alluring in the picture, just as she always had. I remembered the many nights that I had spent in my bed with her moving on top of me, pulling moans from my lips that no other woman had ever been able to inspire, and more in love with her than I had ever been with anyone in my entire existence still to date. She had been powerful, seductive and entrancing. Her kiss could cause a man to do whatever she desired no matter how demanding, and her body could inflict wounds that no medicine could ever heal and even after all this time my wounds still seemed fresh to the touch.

While memories of loving Katherine plagued my mind, I couldn't help but also let the memories of her betrayal have a chance at my ravaged brain as well. I had, idiotically confessed my love for her shortly after she had first climbed into my bed, and yet she had never ever repeated the confession back to me even once. Instead of confessing her love to me, she had opened her legs to my brother and then spent the last few months before her supposed death, moving between us like a shared toy; a toy that neither one of us truly owned.

Finally, I swallowed the painful lump that had formed inside of my throat from the memories that had flooded quickly through me, and then slowly crumpled the picture tightly into my hand. I then dropped the picture that I had once cherished onto the plush burgundy rug beneath my feet and eventually slowly closed my eyes.

"This ends here. That bitch is finally getting what she deserves." I whispered to myself as I felt the empty crystal tumbler in my hand crack and then eventually shatter into pieces just before scattering down onto the floor beneath me. Elena Gilbert better have enjoyed her picture perfect life while she had it, because her world was about to change drastically from the fairy tale that she had once lived. A world of pain and suffering had been waiting for her ever since she had been born with that beautiful face, and the time of her reckoning was quickly approaching. By the end of the year, not a Petrova would be left standing, and soon after that, I would never have to step foot in this town ever again.

_**What did everyone think? Please read and review, hope you liked the idea! –VampTramp**_


	2. Chapter One: Beautiful Deception

_**Cruel and Unusual Punishment**_

"_Crimes of Passion Never Go Unpunished."_

_A dark tale of love, lust, pain and the unbreakable bond of blood._

_A Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction by _

_VampTramp83_

_**Chapter One: The Most Beautiful Deception**_

"_The tragedy is all right there...in the very beginning when he smiles at her. When she instantly forgets. Forgets how dangerous he is."_

― _Anne Eliot_

_**Stefan's POV:**_

It was nearing eleven-fifteen in the morning when I found myself making my way slowly down the long main hallway of _Mystic Falls High School_, and toward my fourth period history class that I had pathetically been anxiously waiting to attend ever since I had compelled my way into it just a few hours before. The idea of having to sit through yet another semester of mundane high school classes that I had already taken nearly a hundred times before was absolutely mind numbing to my already fragile undead psyche, but the payoff that I was determined to receive from all of my hard work promised to be well worth the arduous task of simply relearning the Northern Virginia's high school curriculum just one last time. My mind ached painfully inside of my skull as I continued moving at my casual pace toward my advanced placement class, and I couldn't help but notice the intensely curious stares that I received from all of the small town youth around me as I continued on my path pretending that I couldn't hear every single small minded comment that each one of them made as they obsessively looked my way. I suppose that I couldn't blame them for being so curious about the new student that had seemed to appear suddenly out of thin air in a town where nothing ever went unnoticed, but the fact that they all seemed to stare at me as if I was some kind of foreign object that they had never before in their young lives ever seen, well that just seemed to be a little much.

Finally, after minding my speed to make sure that I was moving at a normal careless teenaged pace, I eventually rounded my final corner and made my way into the small expanse of room two twenty-one. I scanned the still practically empty space around me searching immediately for the only reason that I had stayed so long in what had once been my much beloved home town, and then slowly took a seat in the back of the room once I had noticed that_ she _had not yet arrived. I dropped my tan messenger bag casually down onto the floor beside my incredibly uncomfortable excuse for a desk, and then drummed my fingers mindlessly against the wooden tabletop before me until I finally saw her beautiful and yet painfully heartbreaking young face come into view.

Just seconds before the fourth period bell was finally due to ring, Elena Gilbert walked into the small stuffy classroom in front of me, and in my eyes practically glided through the space before me as if I were trapped in some sort of bittersweet dream from which I could not awake. Her long dark chestnut colored hair was now pulled up into a high ponytail on the top of her head, unlike when I had first seen her earlier that morning, and her skin now seemed slightly flushed due to what I could only imagine was her rushed attempt to actually make it to class on time. The girl that was slowly making her way closer to me with every small step that she took looked identical to Katherine Pierce right down to the alluring smile on her perfect young face, and the slight sway of her hips that seemed to catch the eye of nearly every guy in the room as she casually walked past. It sickened me how strong the desire to kill the beautiful young creature before me burned deeply inside of me even as I sat in a room filled with completely coherent witnesses, and it made me feel even more disgusted when I realized that the idea of it completely turned me on.

"Elena! I saved you a seat." I heard a girl with a soft voice call from behind me, causing Elena to smile and move even faster in my direction. I slowly turned my head back toward where the sweet voice had come from, and then narrowed my eyes as I took the suspiciously familiar looking human teen completely into my view.

The young girl sitting in the next row beside me (and exactly one seat back) was petite, had long dark mahogany colored hair, and large intense caramel colored eyes that seemed to speak far louder than even her excited words to her friend ever had. Her skin was a beautiful lustrous ebony color, and her hair was worn straight down her back reaching just to the bottom of her small shoulder blades. She smiled politely at me as I finally met her mysterious young eyes, and then she quickly lost her friendly expression as she seemed to suddenly catch a chill from the breeze that blew in through the open window just across the room from her. I nodded as I looked at her and held my completely faked endearing smile tightly on my lips, but then suddenly felt a very uneasy feeling wash over me as I continued to study her intently. _Why the hell did she look so familiar? _

"Thanks, Bonnie. I swear if I have to chase Jeremy out of one more bathroom before its even lunchtime, I am going to freaking scream." Elena finally said tensely to the unnervingly familiar girl beside me who was apparently named Bonnie, and then carefully took her seat just in front of her and directly across from me. I smiled as I licked my lips slowly at my sudden good fortune, and then lifted my stare slowly up toward her as I pushed my unease quickly away. Elena didn't noticed me at first, but slowly after she had eventually finished her conversation with her friend regarding who I already knew to be her younger (and also slightly drug addicted) brother, she finally turned my way. She smiled warmly once she saw me, and then slowly leaned forward curiously in her seat.

"Hi, I'm Elena. I've never seen you around before. Are you new here?" She asked sweetly as her full lips twisted into a gentle smile, and her warm brown eyes brightened slightly in my direction. I smiled as I nodded slowly, and then let out a very careful breath.

"Yeah, I just moved back to town this summer. It's very nice to meet you, Elena. I'm Stefan, Stefan Salvatore." I answered politely as I nodded toward her, and then laid on some of my old southern charm that had always worked out quite deliciously for me in the past. Elena nodded as she flipped the long hair hanging from her ponytail back over her slim shoulder, and then shrugged casually in my direction.

"Moving back? I've lived in Mystic Falls all of my life, and I've never seen you around. When did you last live here?" She asked innocently as she quickly crossed one of her long legs over the other, and then carefully straightened her red cheerleading skirt over her thighs.

"It's been quite a while. It feels like it was almost a different lifetime." I said with a smile as I attempted to be as vague as possible in my answer, and yet at the same time also keep at least a small element of the truth alive in my words.

"Well, on behalf of everyone in _Mystic Falls_ we are very glad to have you back, Stefan Salvatore." Elena said sweetly as she smiled brightly at me, and then finally turned herself back toward the front of the classroom just as the teacher took his place casually in front of his desk.

The first half of my fourth period class moved by incredibly quickly as I blatantly ignored the apparent newest teaching addition to _Mystic Falls High School_, Mr. Alaric Saltzman, and focused more so on the girl that was sitting next to me texting with her friends about yours truly. The uneasily familiar girl that still sat happily behind Elena was attempting to elusively tell her that I was _totally_ checking her out, and apparently Elena was cryptically attempting to argue with her that I definitely was not. It amazed me how far teenagers had regressed since I had actually been one of them, but alas it was endearing to watch their simple interactions just the same. To give Elena's creepy little friend credit; I had in fact definitely been checking her out just as she had suspected. It was too bad for Elena, however, that my intentions for her were far worse than just a simple passion filled night in the backseat of my car, and no return phone call in the morning. _No, my plans were far more appetizing than that._

"Alright, class. As you are all well aware, this is an advanced placement course and therefore you will be earning college credit for your work done in here this year. The course material for our first semester will be extensive and challenging, but I assure you that when you leave my class at the end of the school year, you will be very well prepared for any college history class that you will take as freshman." The incredibly young appearing history teacher began about fifteen minutes before the class was finally due to be over.

"Now that being said, the first unit that we are going to cover is going to be on The Civil War. Your first assignment will be a detailed research paper regarding the war, and its lasting effects on both the young men that fought in it, as well as the everyday citizens that lived through it watching from afar. You will work in partners, and every student will be expected to participate no matter what the excuse. This assignment will require a great deal of dedication both inside and outside of class, and it will be due one month from today." Mr. Saltzman finally finished causing a wave of groans to wash over the class around me, and the eruption of whispers to explode from nearly every corner of the once completely silent room. I smiled to myself as I silently thanked the idiotic young teacher before me for giving me just the reason that I needed in order to get a little bit more personal with Miss Elena, and then immediately began working through the incredibly gory beginning details to my plan in my brain that I was sure even my brother would have found disturbing.

"Now, I realize that this was probably not what you all wanted to hear on the first day of school, but please remember that I am giving you this assignment in order to prepare you for what is to come when you all hopefully begin college next fall. Professors, even in Virginia are not going to let you off easy just because it is the first day of class. They are going to expect you to be prepared immediately, and unfortunately, so do I." Mr. Saltzman rambled in what sounded like almost an apology as he began handing out information packets regarding the requirements of the assignment, and also quietly answering the millions of questions that were being thrown at him by every panicking student that he passed. I smiled as I rolled my eyes at the idiocy of the teenagers around me, and then looked to my right to find Bonnie and Elena already making plans to work together on the assignment that had just been announced. _Well, it was time to put an end to that._

"Mr. Saltzman, I have a quick question." I said in my most sincere voice as the tall poorly shaven young teacher finally approached my desk, and then set a packet down carefully in front of me. Mr. Saltzman nodded as he looked down at me in curiosity, and surprisingly just the slightest bit of masked suspicion.

"Yes, Mr. Salvatore, right?" He asked with a smile as he pointed at me casually as if we were some sort of friends, and as if he were somehow suddenly incredibly cool. I nodded slowly as I faked an interested smile.

"Yes, that's right." I said slowly as I lowered my voice slightly, and then glanced quickly around me to make sure that those sitting beside me were pleasantly otherwise occupied with their sudden project anxiety. The teacher nodded as I finally returned my eyes to his, and then he slowly leaned down slightly closer toward where I sat.

"What can I do for you?" He asked quickly. I smiled as I focused my eyes intensely in on his, and then caught his stare tightly with mine.

"Don't you think that it would be best if we worked in partners of your choosing?" I asked slowly as I let my gaze pull his mind tightly to mine, and then held it forcefully to me until I felt completely in control of his consciousness. Mr. Saltzman nodded slowly as his stare began to glaze over slightly, and his body seemed to become just slightly limp beneath him.

"I think that it would be best if you worked in partners of my choosing." He repeated back to me in a slow conditioned tone that I recognized incredibly well from the administrator that had so generously put me in this horrible excuse for a class only a few hours before. I licked my lips as I felt my victory beginning to wash over me, and beautifully vivid images of both Elena and Katherine's demise flash quickly before my eyes.

"And, you also think that we should work with the person that is sitting next to us. You think that it would be easier that way." I said even quieter as I made sure that I did not draw any unnecessary attention to myself from those around me, while still at the same time diligently focusing on my important task at hand.

"I think that you should work with the person sitting next to you. It would be easier that way." He repeated back to me once again in a slow and monotonous tone. I smiled as I nodded slowly, and then immediately dropped my eyes back down toward my desk just as the young teacher's eyes quickly refocused, and then he awkwardly straightened his stance.

"You, um, good here, Stefan?" Mr. Saltzman stuttered in a slightly confused tone as he looked down at me, and then shook his head slightly as if attempting to wake himself from some sort of bad dream. I nodded casually as I looked up at him, and then smiled in complete innocence.

"Yes, you answered my question perfectly. Thank you, Mr. Saltzman." I said formally, and then after another confused look, he finally turned and returned to the front of the classroom.

"Alright, everyone please settle down. Now, at the risk of creating some sort of social war, I will be selecting your history partners for you in order to make matters easier." Mr. Saltzman announced as he leaned back against his desk, and then stared out over the room in front of him. Another wave of groans moved through the class even louder than the last, and I couldn't help but smile to myself at the incredibly satisfying sound.

"I know, I know, I am completely unfair. Now, I have decided that you will be working with the person sitting next to you since that seems to be easiest. You have a few minutes now that class is almost over to talk things through and make some initial plans, but please know that I would like an outline for your papers by next week. Good luck, everyone." He announced as he finally moved back behind his desk, and then eventually sat down turning his attention to his phone that had begun vibrating quietly against the wooden surface. I smiled in pride at my thriving compulsion skills, and then slowly turned back toward my sweet little Elena.

"I guess we will be getting to know each other a little bit better." I said with a flirtatious smile as my eyes quickly locked in on hers, and my mind began to race with vicious plans that caused my mouth to water deliciously. Elena nodded as she shrugged her shoulders nervously and then smiled kindly at me.

"I guess so." She said sweetly, and with that I knew that my plan had not been nearly as crazy as my brother had earlier said it to be. The Petrova's would be long gone by the end of the year, and if I kept going at this pace, maybe even sooner.

_**Elena's POV:**_

The once brightly shining late summer sun had just begun to set over the fiery copper sky above me as I nervously attempted to navigate my way down the incredibly uneven back roads just on the outskirts of town, and also somehow calm my incredibly frantic nerves that had practically been on fire ever since my mysterious new history partner had insisted that I meet him immediately after school. The poorly scribbled directions that I had written on my left hand nearly five hours before had finally begun to smear as I hastily turned onto yet another gravel covered road that I had never seen before, and thick clouds of what appeared to be fog suddenly began to rise from the road beneath me faster than even my car's new defrost system could contain. Finally after what felt like hours of driving in complete circles, my eyes eventually focused in on a large beautifully seasoned home just about a quarter of a mile away that from the description that Stefan had given to me earlier, appeared to be my incredibly nerve wrecking final destination. I let out a sigh of relief as I accelerated slightly on the road in which I was traveling on, and then quickly turned my now completely dirt covered Range Rover into the long winding driveway that promised to lead to the beautiful slightly isolated home. I drove carefully down the estate's expansive entrance, and then slowly pulled my black SUV just to the side of the large house directly beside a vintage looking midnight blue Camaro. I quickly turned off my car's engine, and then let out a deep breath as I took in the immaculate space surrounding me.

The house (or should I say small mansion) that sat just about fifty yards away from where I currently studied it, was possibly one of the most breathtaking homes that I had ever seen in my entire life. The spacious residence didn't have the usual glitz and glamoured architecture that other homes in the area, such as the Lockwood's mansion had, but it did have a very strong and powerful presence that I suspected not even the mayor's money could successfully buy. The structure before me was quite vast, incredibly expansive, and looked as if it could have fit nearly ten families comfortably inside of it, rather than just the one that I suspected actually lived there. The magnificent archways that led up to the darkened truss of the home were incredibly steep and carefully shadowed by the statuesque trees that encompassed most of the surrounding property that from what I could see practically went on forever. As I continued to study the large estate before me, I also noticed that there were quite a few greatly oversized windows spread over the expanse of the building that were shrouded in dark curtains, and making it nearly impossible to see any further past the thick misty glass in almost a protective sort of way. Slowly, I finally stepped out of the safe confines of my car, and quietly shut my driver's side door behind me. I stared up at the beautiful estate that I had been so quickly (and eagerly) invited to earlier in the day, and then swallowed thickly as I felt my nerves come to life suddenly beneath my skin at the thought of actually going inside of it. _How could this have all been here my entire life without me knowing about it? And, why the hell had I never heard the name Salvatore before today?_

Slowly, I moved closer toward what appeared to be the main entryway of the incredibly quiet ancient home that for some reason, I still found myself completely in awe of. As I walked, I quickly searched through my exhausted brain for the information that I had learned earlier in the day from my incredibly gossip savvy friend, Caroline, that had always known everything that there was to know about anything in _Mystic Falls. _ When Caroline had first nearly accosted me after I had finally been released from my fourth period history class, I had been slightly terrified and definitely caught off guard at her intense curiosity over _Mystic Falls High School's _newest student, and my all of a sudden history partner. However, after talking to my friend for only a few short minutes, I suddenly realized exactly what all of her excitement had truly been about.

According to what Caroline Forbes (of the founding Forbes') had gathered from her mother after calling her immediately once she had learned Stefan's last name, the Salvatore's had been among one of the five original founding families in _Mystic Falls_ just as both mine and hers had been so many years before. They had been a very wealthy family that a few generations before coming to our small town, had immigrated to America from Italy, and had been one of the first members of the original _Mystic Falls Town Council_. The Salvatore's had apparently been very lucrative business owners, incredibly hard workers, and had contributed a great deal to the community in their time. Unfortunately during the height of their prosperity, tragedy had suddenly struck the once rock solid family, and once it rained on the Salvatore's it apparently truly began to pour.

Long before any of the founding families had made their way into the small area that would later become my quaint hometown of _Mystic Falls_; the matriarch of the Salvatore family had died at a quite young age after giving birth to her second child. The loss had apparently been incredibly hard on the surviving male members of the family, but they had somehow moved on and continued to prosper greatly in the southeast. Once the Salvatore children (both boys) were finally grown, they had apparently both been drafted as soldiers into the Civil War. It was said that the two men were only gone for a few weeks before their father had received word that they had both been killed in action, and from what Caroline's mother had explained, he had died there shortly after.

At the time, everyone in the town had assumed that the Salvatore line had been sadly ended since neither one of the grown brothers had ever yet fathered any children, but apparently their father had a secret that no one at the time had known about. Apparently, Daddy Salvatore had been having an affair with one of his servants during the time just before he had died, and thus unknowingly fathered another child behind his very expensive closed doors. Sherriff Forbes (Caroline's mother) claimed that there was no other information regarding the Salvatore heritage after the discovery of the third child was made, but something told me there was a lot more to the story than what was being so generously shared by my friend's usually tight lipped mother. How could an entire family have just disappeared over one hundred years before, and now just suddenly seemed to spring up completely out of nowhere?

Finally, after wrecking my already chaotic young mind desperately over the confusing puzzle that was the Salvatore family history, I eventually made my way up to the large mahogany front door of what I prayed was in fact Stefan's home. I took in a deep steadying breath as I slowly lifted my hand toward the door, and then nearly jumped out of my skin as I suddenly heard the loud squawk of some sort of bird directly behind me.

"Jesus Christ!" I yelled as I quickly turned around nearly tripping over my own feet, and then suddenly found a large sleek crow sitting perched on top of a stone pillar just behind me, and staring at me in what appeared to be complete confusion. _Could birds be confused?_

"Bird, you scared the shit out of me." I breathed as I laughed to myself at my unusual jumpiness, and then ran my fingers quickly through my long hair silently thanking God that I hadn't turned around to find anything more threatening than a simple bird waiting behind me. The bird squawked loudly once again as it stared at me intently, and something about the way that its dark eyes seemed to almost penetrate through me suddenly caused the smile to fall from my once amused face.

I didn't know what it was, but it felt as if I was suddenly frozen in the entryway of the large antique home, and completely unable to move from where I stood. The beautiful onyx colored bird with silky shining dark feathers held my gaze tightly with its deep entrancing eyes as I stood in complete silence studying it as if I had never seen an animal like it in existence ever before. The bird tilted its head to the side as it seemed almost entertained by my admiring it so intensely, and then as if I were moving of someone else's accord, my feet took a few slow steps forward toward the mesmerizing creature. The crow continued to stare at me as it tilted its head quickly to the other side, and then squawked loudly once again, but this time I did not jump or scream. The vibrations from the primal call that had escaped the animal's beak seemed to move through my suddenly heated overly sensitive skin, and then sunk deeply into my bones causing my flesh to ache painfully from its power. A chill moved through my body as I took another unintended step forward, and then slowly stretched out my now shaking right hand toward the mysterious dark animal.

"Why can I not stop looking at you?" I whispered quietly to myself, but just as my last word finally left my lips, the crow quickly opened its expansive wings, and then gracefully flew away. My thoughts spun wildly inside of my confused mind as I quickly attempted to shake myself out of my incredibly strange encounter, and then I finally turned back toward the front door suddenly noticing that it was now just slightly opened. I swallowed as I moved closer toward the entrance, and then finally stepped slowly inside of the mysterious home searching for any signs of life that did not include that hauntingly beautiful dark bird.

The main hallway that led into what appeared to be the grand expanse to the ground floor of Stefan's home was as equally breathtaking as the outside of the house had been, and even more dark and secluded than its exterior. The walls around me were made of a beautiful dark polished wood, and the art that adorned the exquisite hardened surface appeared to be older than what I had even most recently seen inside of a museum. Small antique tables lined the sides of the hallway that I still slowly made my way down, and lovely (as well as obviously expensive) crystal lamps were scattered on top of them in what appeared to be almost a completely careless decoration. A light thin layer of dust seemed to cascade just over the tops of nearly everything that my eyes could take in before me as if no one had tended to it in quite some time, and the thick heady smell of leather wafted in through the stuffy air around me as I slowly continued to move. My mouth hung open in a silent awe as I took in the ancient beauty around me, and then I finally took yet another step further into the house in search of my host.

"Stefan?" I called weakly as I looked around the seemingly empty space around me, and then silently wondered if Caroline had actually been right when she had told me that her mother had mentioned that this house was said to be haunted.

"Stef…?" I attempted to call once again as I slowly turned around to glance behind me, but just as I did, I ran directly into a hard masculine body that caused all of my nerves to jump erratically beneath my muscles, and my heart to rise quickly into my throat.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry…the…." I started to stutter mindlessly in complete fear as I lifted my gaze and suddenly took in the man standing before me who only moments before had been nowhere to be seen. The man stared down at me with an intrigued expression on his face, and appeared to study my every breath as if each single movement that I made meant something of great importance to some unknown cause. I desperately attempted to search my mind for something to say to the mysterious stranger in order to force him to finally speak, but as soon as I let my eyes take in the entirety of his form before me, I suddenly felt my words get lost inside of my mind.

The man that stood silently just a few inches away from my reach, was mesmerizingly beautiful and even describing him as that felt as if it were an insult. He stood quite a few inches taller than me, and had the darkest color of midnight black hair that I had ever seen that lay in messy pieces on top of his head. His skin was a beautiful rich ivory color, and his body appeared incredibly strong beneath his dark form fitting clothing. His jaw was tight and squared slightly as he watched me, and his features were sharp and appeared as if they had somehow been chiseled by hand. The man stood confident with his shoulders back, and his chest slightly forward, but no amount of romance novel description could have ever possibly described what I saw when I finally lifted my eyes, and met his almost hypnotizing cool stare.

"The door was open…" I suddenly stuttered without the permission of my brain as I looked up into the paralyzing cobalt blue eyes that seemed to hold my stare tightly to his and refuse to let me go no matter how hard that I tried to escape them. I swallowed thickly as I felt my hands beginning to shake due to the man's continued silence before me, and then finally felt my mind begin to spin as his icy cool stare seemed to quickly reach inside of me and hold me forcefully where I stood.

"I…" I muttered as I pointed my hand behind me toward the front door in order to at least attempt to physically display that the door had in fact been blatantly left open, but unfortunately I still could not pull my eyes away from the mysterious stranger in front of me in order to make whatever point it was that I was foolishly trying to make.

"You must be, Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." The man said finally in a smooth tone as he nodded slowly, and then allowed a warm smile to twist over his perfect pale lips. _I finally breathed out._

"Damon, it's um…really nice to meet you. I'm sorry; Stefan didn't tell me that he had a brother." I choked out as I licked my suddenly dry lips, and then took a timid step back attempting to put some much needed space between me and what appeared to be Stefan's much older brother. Damon nodded slowly as he watched me move away from him carefully, and then mirrored my motion by taking a small step back from me as well.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come in." He said with a smile as he motioned with one of his long tightly defined arms toward what I could only guess was the living room that I had apparently blindly passed almost immediately when I had first walked into the house only moments before.

"I'm sorry for coming in without knocking. The door was just open, and it didn't look like anyone was home so I thought…" I started to ramble in an attempt to explain why Stefan's brother had just found me roaming around his house as if I owned the freaking place. Damon nodded as he led me slowly into the massive expanse of his living room, and then turned back toward me quickly as he narrowed his eyes.

"So, you thought that you would take a private tour?" He asked sarcastically as he shrugged his shoulders, and then crossed his arms over his chest as he began to study me carefully once again. I swallowed as I felt heat rise quickly in my cheeks, and then shook my head as I dropped my eyes down to the floor beneath me.

"No, I just…" I started as I began to desperately search my brain for any logical reasons as to why I was walking around in someone else's house without permission, and then finally stopped just as I saw Damon smile once again.

"I was only joking, Elena. You are welcome here anytime." He said in a slightly softer tone as his eyes stayed intently on mine, and he spoke to me as if he had known me his entire life. I swallowed thickly once again as I felt my blood begin to move faster through my veins, and then my hands begin to shake slightly harder at my sides.

"So, um…is Stefan here? He asked me to meet him here after school to work on our history paper, and I really shouldn't be out too late or my aunt will start to worry." I said quickly as I began to fidget slightly where I stood, and then immediately cursed myself for making myself sound as if I were a child with a designated bedtime. Damon smiled as he took a step closer toward me, and then slowly shook his head.

"No, he's not actually. He ran out to catch…I mean grab something to eat, but he should be back anytime." He said slowly as he licked his lips, and then ran his eyes over me intently once again. My heart began to slam violently against the delicate bones of my chest as the look in Damon's eyes seemed to excite something inside of me that I had never felt before, and just as I felt my hands beginning to sweat I saw Damon swallow thickly as he continued to carefully watch me.

"Am I making you nervous, Elena?" He asked in a low voice as he took a slow step toward me, and then ran his tongue meticulously over his bottom lip just as his crystal blue eyes dropped toward the soft hallow of my throat. I swallowed as I shook my head and felt a slight amount of fear move over me suddenly from the unreadable tone of his voice, and then faked a casual smile.

"No, of course not. I just had a really long day at school today and I'm kind of tired." I said quickly as I took a small step backward and then crossed my arms tightly over my chest. Damon nodded as he finally ceased in his slow movements, and then nodded toward the sofa behind me.

"Would you like to sit down while you wait for my brother?" He asked kindly with a smile as he took a small step closer. I nodded slowly as I finally legitimately smiled.

"Sure, thank you." I said nervously as I took a few steps backward and then eventually made my way toward the large brown leather sofa that sat just behind me. Damon nodded as he watched me and then moved over to a large lounge chair just to the right of where I sat, and then leaned back against the thick material casually.

"So, um did you and Stefan just move back with your parents this summer then?" I asked uneasily as I desperately attempted to break the ice between Stefan's brother and myself, which felt as if it were quickly crushing me. Damon shook his head as he pursed his lips together, and then dropped his eyes down to the plush carpet beneath him.

"No, Stefan and my parents passed away quite some time ago. I have been his legal guardian ever since they died, and I decided that we should come back here so that he could finish up school." He said carefully as he finally folded his large arms over his chest, and then lifted his eyes back up to mine. I nodded slowly and smiled as I couldn't help but appreciate the kindness that had to apparently be inside of the man standing just across from me since he had been taking care of his brother for what I imagined to now be quite a long time. _Speaking of a long time, exactly how old was this guy? Twenty-five? No, maybe twenty-two?_

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents. Where did you guys live before you came back here?" I asked attempting not to pry too incredibly much while at the same time also getting at least a little bit of information on what seemed to be the very elusive lost founding family's past.

"We have always moved around a lot." He replied quickly as he faked a small smile, and then pushed himself away from the chair just before he began moving closer toward my seat. I nodded as I felt my nerves begin to slightly twitch, and my heart begin to pound faster with every single step that he took closer toward me.

"You have a really beautiful home." I said quickly as I pulled my eyes away from Damon, and began admiring the beautifully decorated space around me.

"It's a little kitschy for my taste, but thank you for the sentiment." He said casually as he finally sat down on the sofa next to me, and then leaned back against one of the large overstuffed cushions. My pulse pounded at his close proximity to my nervous body, and my gut screamed at me that I should move away quickly no matter how beautiful the stranger before me was. _But, of course I didn't listen._

"Well, I think that things that are old and full of history are really interesting. I like to imagine what the story is behind them, and where they have been." I said attempting to keep my voice steady as I leaned slightly away from Damon, and then tightly crossed my legs in front of me. Damon smiled to himself as if he were thinking of some sort of a private joke, and then slowly raised his eyes to focus on something just beside my head. I swallowed as he slowly leaned forward toward me, and then he finally closed the gap between us causing my breathing to practically stop within my lungs.

"Relax, Elena. You just have something in your hair." He whispered softly as he seemed to immediately sense my incredible unease, and then without another word reached out and gently touched a few strands of my dark hair. A chill moved through my body as the touch from Damon's fingertips seemed to radiate throughout the sensitive nerves of my scalp, and then immediately reached deep inside of me touching something that I had never known existed before. My pulse pounded beneath my skin as I felt the soft caress of something against the side of my cheek, and then I felt my mouth go completely dry as I felt the whisper of Damon's fingertips against my now burning young flesh. Slowly, I lifted my eyes to finally catch Damon's, and for the first time ever since I had met him, I saw something in his eyes that scared me half to death. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that it was dangerous, and I knew that my gut had been right earlier when it had told me to run.

"Have you been playing with the birds, Elena?" Damon finally asked with a seductive smile as he pulled a long black silky feather from my hair, and then twirled it casually between his fingers just as he leaned back away from my face. I swallowed as I felt goose bumps break out over my skin, and then felt my knees begin to shake uncontrollably against me.

"No, um…I don't know how..." I rambled in a whisper as I felt my mind beginning to swirl once again as I locked eyes with the man in front of me, and then felt myself beginning to lose complete control of my chaotic thinking. Damon nodded as he set the feather down carefully onto the sofa between us, and then smiled brightly as his eyes stayed firmly locked on mine.

"Hello, brother." He said in a slightly dark sarcastic tone as he finally pulled his eyes away from mine, and then turned toward the entryway of the parlor just before he gracefully pushed himself up to stand. I cleared my throat uneasily as I followed Damon's movements and quickly rose from the sofa as well, just before I turned around to find Stefan standing behind us.

"Stefan. Hey." I said nervously as I pushed a few strands of my hair behind my ear, and then took a couple much needed steps away from Damon. Stefan nodded at me as he tightened his jaw slightly, and kept his eyes focused in intently on his brother.

"It's good to see you again, Elena. Damon, don't you have plans this evening?" He asked his brother formally as he seemed to be saying something with his eyes that his lips did not exactly voice. Damon smirked as he leaned back slightly on his heels, and then raised his hands in what appeared to be mock surrender.

"Ah, yes. I should probably go find someone…something to eat, and leave you two kids to your studies. Elena, it was very nice to meet you." He said as he slowly dropped his eyes from his brother, and then turned back toward me. I nodded as I avoided his stare, and then tried to process the unnerving words that he had just said. I heard Damon sigh, and then suddenly felt my skin heat as he unexpectedly reached out and grabbed my hand, causing my eyes to immediately shoot back up toward his.

"You are welcome to trespass in my home anytime that you'd like." He whispered as he slowly pulled my hand up to his mouth, and then gently kissed my skin just as his eyes locked tightly in on mine. My face flushed as the soft flesh of his mouth touched my hand, and then my heart pounded harder inside of my chest as his crystal colored eyes seemed to glisten just slightly in the room's dim lighting.

"Thank you. It was nice to meet you too, Damon." I said quickly and then dropped my hand and put a few much needed steps between me and Stefan's brother. Damon nodded as he smiled at me, and then winked at his brother just before he moved quickly across the room and then disappeared out of the now oddly closed front door. I took in a deep breath as I slowly turned back toward Stefan, who was looking at me in a very peculiar type of way, and then cleared my incredibly dry throat.

"Would you like to get started?" Stefan asked tightly as he continued to study my expression. I nodded as I smiled and then took a few steps closer toward him.

"Of course. Let's go write some history." I said with an incredibly fake level of enthusiasm, and then followed Stefan as he made his way quickly toward the stairs, and away from his mysterious brother with the terrifyingly beautiful blue eyes.

_**A/N: Alright so what did everyone think? Sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I've edited this chapter so many times that I think I'm getting OCD, lol. Anyway, a few notes: Yes, the story about the Salvatore's and how they died is completely and totally false. My point in writing this is to show that the town is obviously trying to cover things up, and give as much incorrect information as possible so that people do not continue to ask questions. Also, yes, Stefan is very creepy lol. I am trying to play up his crazy because he is fun that way, and I think it is a fascinating part of his character. Not all chapters will have Stefan's POV; I just thought it was important that I show his intentions at the beginning. Please note the characters will be ever evolving and changing. No one is all good, all bad or anything like that. I will try to get the next chapter up ASAP and please let me know what you think. Your reviews are great motivation and help me so much. Thank you so much for reading**__** And thank you to each and every one of you that read the Prologue, reviewed and followed!**_


	3. Chapter Two: The Face of Temptation

_**Cruel and Unusual Punishment**_

"_Crimes of Passion Never Go Unpunished."_

_A dark tale of love, lust, pain and the unbreakable bond of blood._

_A Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction by _

_VampTramp83_

_**Chapter Two: The Face of Temptation**_

"_... The devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you've ever wished for ..."_

― _Tucker Max_

_**Damon's POV:**_

The eerily vacant road ahead of me lay completely silent as I sped quickly over the dampened blacktop beneath my tires, and mindlessly tapped my fingers against the tattered leather steering wheel that by this point in my incredibly extended existence, now practically guided itself down the long darkened highway that it appeared as if time had somehow forgotten. The flesh of my throat ached painfully underneath of my cool skin as I attempted to swallow against the hunger that had slowly been threatening to steal my precious sanity most of the day, and my mouth watered desperately as I finally noticed that the young woman sitting drunkenly beside me had now pulled her long wavy cocoa colored hair up into a high pony tail, and was practically flaunting her delicious bluish green veins right in front of my face as if they were some sort of tantalizing delicacy.

"So, where exactly are you taking me, Damon?" The woman finally asked with the slightest hint of a slur beginning to slow her innocent words just as I caught the small glimpse of a seductive smile curving onto her thin gloss covered lips. I grinned to myself as vivid images of the next few hours ahead of me flashed quickly before my eyes causing my throat to practically cry out in pain inside of me, and my dick to throb lustfully beneath my suddenly uncomfortably tight dark charcoal colored jeans.

"As I have told you three times since we have left the bar, I am taking you back to my place. Do you think that this time you can remember that for longer than five seconds?" I asked in what even I knew to be a completely prickish tone, but the fact that the girl beside me (who claimed to be a sophomore in college) was apparently idiotic enough that she couldn't even seem to remember where it was that she was going after only a ten minute car ride and five watered down beers, well it was beginning to grate heavily on my incredibly fragile nerves.

"Sorry, I'm just so wasted. Are you sure that you should be driving? You drank even more than I did, and I am really feeling it. Maybe you should pull over…we could get to know each other better while we sober up." She said in a slow seductive voice just as I felt one of her small thin hands slide over my thigh, and then gently settle just onto the top of my groin. I swallowed as I felt the sharpness of my fangs beginning to press roughly against my overly sensitive gums, and then I quickly turned my car onto the next street ahead of me that just so luckily happened to be mine.

"Oh, I don't think we want to risk getting to know each other. Besides, we are here now anyway." I said tightly with just a small hint of sarcasm in my words as I finally turned my Camaro into my long expansive driveway, and then stomped on the gas in an attempt to hopefully reach my home even just a second faster so that I could sink my teeth (among other things) into the girl beside me so that she would finally shut the hell up.

"Someone sure is excited to get me all to himself." The brunette next to me said as soon as I slammed on my breaks jolting her slightly forward, and then parked my car hastily in front of my house causing my tires to screech loudly throughout the once silent midnight air. I let out an irritated sigh as I faked a sincere smile, and then quickly pushed my driver's side door open just before I stepped out casually onto the gravel that lay unevenly beneath my feet. _No sweetheart, I already have you all to myself…unfortunately. What I am excited about is getting you into a place where no one can hear you scream so that I can feed in fucking peace!_

"Just get out of the car." I answered in sheer exhaustion as I finally slammed my car door shut behind me and then turned toward the main entrance of my home that was just slightly lit up from the soft glow of an overhead light above the front door that was nearly burnt out. I heard the young girl giggle from inside of my car behind me as she slowly finally opened up her door, and then shakily began attempting to make her way toward me in three inch heels that appeared to be about two sizes too small. I walked ahead of her as I reached into my pocket for my house keys while at the same time praying that my date would not break her own neck in my driveway before I had a chance at her later, and then quickly felt my head jerk to the side as I suddenly caught the view of a large black SUV sitting just to the right of where my brother's incredibly pretentious Porsche just so happened to be. I closed my eyes as I felt irritation rise quickly inside of me, and then a very familiar hunger burn through my veins even stronger than it had been only moments before. _Jesus Christ, not tonight._

For the past nine days, Elena Gilbert had been at my house nearly every night working on her and Stefan's history paper that to be completely honest, they could have finished long before now if only my brother hadn't been so incredibly inept in his romantic revenge planning. However, since even after over one hundred and fifty years on this God forsaken planet, Stefan had not yet even correctly picked up how to torture someone properly, my home had become the public fucking library for his idiotic teenaged flirtation. To be completely honest, I had known from the very first moment that my brother had proposed his incredibly poorly thought out plan of ending the intoxicatingly beautiful (and also incredibly evil) Petrova bloodline, that he would in no way ever be able to actually complete said task without me practically having to hold his brooding little hand nearly every step of the way. Ever since the first moment that he had brought Katherine's little mini-me into our home the week before, and he had caught her looking at me with those big brown eyes that had held even the smallest glint of lustful interest, Stefan had been attempting to romantically court the Gilbert girl, instead of simply killing her. Sure, Stefan still claimed that all of his intense romantic doting was all just a part of his master plan in order to gain her young teenaged trust, and therefore would make his torture even sweeter when he eventually did finally end her, but I knew better than anyone how incredibly full of shit my baby brother truly could be. His beautifully sweet little victim had looked at me with attraction (and let us not forget incredibly delicious fear) when she had first met me in the entryway of our home, and even though Stefan had originally created this plan in order to invoke the same kind of torture that Katherine had inflicted upon us so many years before, well he in no way ever thought that he just might end up the younger Petrova girl's second choice. _Or in other words…me._

Now, with all of that delicious information being said, no matter how Elena might have looked at me when she had first been caught sneaking around inside of my home admiring my family's priceless heirlooms as if they were trinkets, I still unfortunately would never be able to believe even for a single second that my idiotic baby brother would ever be Little Miss All American Girl's second choice if it ever came down to him and me. Elena Gilbert, from what I had been able to gather thus far, seemed to be the kind of girl that was desperately searching for her Prince Charming, and had every single innocent intention of living happily ever after with him as soon as said prince was found. She was kind, caring, nurturing, and considerate of those around her even when they necessarily were not the same to her. She sacrificed her own happiness for that of her family and friends on a quite regular basis, and she of course even believed that good would always prevail over evil no matter what the extenuating circumstances might possibly be at the end of her story. Elena was innocent, young, and a romantic at heart and all of that unfortunately left her as the perfect victim for my baby brother's special brand of heartbreaking torture that I assumed she had already begun falling for even this early in his incredibly sad excuse for a plan. Her contrast from Katherine's mindless self-indulgence (and also incredible conniving intelligence) was almost appalling when you sat back and actually compared the two, but there was one thing that sweet little Elena just so happened to have in common with my beloved ex- witch of a lover, and that was something so simple that it was almost humorous to even say out loud. Both of the Petrova girls were one hundred percent attracted to those things that they knew they should not have and neither one of them seemed to be any good at all at denying it, which was absolutely excellent for me.

For the past week and a half that Ms. Gilbert had been gracing my home with her intoxicatingly beautiful presence in order to work on the incredibly idiotic history paper that I could have written in under an hour, she had also been spending a large amount of her time staring at me. At first, the way that she had looked at me had been in complete and total fear as she had stared at me frightfully with those big chocolate brown eyes that a century before, I might have actually fallen for, and silently questioned if I was going to do her any harm. I had taken her off guard when I had just suddenly appeared behind her as she had been stumbling around my home as if it were some sort of an archaic museum rather than an actual residence, and I had made her uncomfortable when I had taken longer than she had expected before I had eventually spoken to her. Then, after a day or so of finally warming up to the fact that I would be around whenever she was over studying with Stefan, the look in her eyes slowly began to change. Soon, her glances toward me became much longer than they had been before, and after a few days her ability to hold eye contact with me for any longer than five seconds became practically impossible. Her breathing sped up slightly whenever I was closer to her body than she deemed socially acceptable, and her heart pounded feverishly inside of her chest whenever I would run my tongue hungrily over my lips. It was quite endearing to watch her as she admired me with her young innocent eyes that had not yet seen the kind of things that I had in the time that I had walked this earth, and almost also quite humorous to study her as she attempted to fight the unknown feelings inside of her that made her mouth water and her palms wet. Unfortunately for Elena however, endearment and humor weren't the only emotions that the longing looks from her beautiful chocolate brown eyes seemed to evoke inside of my cold constantly hungry body. The purity and naivety that radiated from every single pore on her luscious skin screamed out to me causing my blood to rush painfully fast through my ancient veins, and the insatiable lust that had always burned so deeply inside of me to flame completely out of control. Katherine's younger counterpart made me feel as if I were a starved beast that had just been released from my cage after eons of confinement, and then I suddenly caught the glimpse of the most delicious cut of meat laying just a few feet away from my desperate hungry claws. The fantasy of capturing the breathtaking young girl that my brother now just so happened to be practically dating made my mouth water in response to its delicious temptation, and the knowledge that it was a very realistic expectation, well that just made me hunger for her even more. _Speaking of hunger…_

"So, are you going to take me inside or are we going to stand out here all night?" The young girl beside me (whose name I could not at the moment recall) finally asked me in great annoyance after I had been standing in silence on my cobblestone walkway for about three minutes longer than I actually needed to, and subsequently immediately pulled me from my intense inner monologue. I nodded as I finally shook myself from my obviously deranged thoughts, and then began to once again move closer toward my door.

"Yes, but it seems that my brother has company, so please try to act like a lady." I said sarcastically as I pretended to actually care what my baby brother thought of the meals that I brought home, and at the same time also pretend that I cared for my meal's delicate feminine comfort as well. The young woman beside me with the still incredibly over glossed lips laughed as I finally turned the knob to the large door in front of me, and then stumbled closer toward me suddenly clutching my tensed arm.

"Mmm…you have a brother, huh?" She asked in an incredibly sleazy voice that made me want to rip her throat out immediately on my doorstep, and skip the whole part where I fucked her brains out and made her cum harder than a freight train off of its rails. _Which I could, and to be completely honest I probably still would._

"It would be best if you would stop talking now." I said through clenched teeth as I sighed and then finally pushed the front door open just before then ushering my incredibly poor choice for a dinner date (no pun intended) reluctantly inside.

The second that I stepped into the entryway of my home, I could immediately smell that Elena was somewhere close inside. The hypnotic smell of lavender soap and deliciously sweet honeycomb practically hung in the thick air around me as I moved closer toward the parlor where I heard her entrancing laughter coming from, and then unfortunately also heard the painfully annoying sound of my brother's laughter as well.

"I'm sorry Elena; I still just don't see why citing _Gone With The Wind_ is not a reliable source." My brother said in an overly innocent voice that made my skin crawl, and my mind practically hemorrhage from its heavily fabricated sound. Elena laughed flirtatiously as she cleared her throat slightly before she finally spoke to him once again.

"Because it is a movie and not a fact, Stefan." She said sweetly just as I walked into the room and then leaned casually against the side wall of the entryway, and narrowed my eyes at the obtrusive vision before me. Stefan quickly met my eyes the second that he sensed me move into the room, and the second that his gaze met mine he smiled proudly from ear to ear at his position. Slowly, he dropped one of his hands down to Elena's dark silky hair that was splayed out over one of his legs, and then ran his tongue over his lips as if he were touching her much more intimately than he actually was. _She is laying with her head on your leg, Stefan; don't get too ahead of yourself._

"Well hello, brother. I see that you made it home without any casualties." Stefan said sarcastically as he raised his brow at me, and then suddenly lost his triumphant expression just as soon as Elena sat up at the speed of light due to the announcement of my presence.

"Yes, but the night is still young, brother. Stefan, Elena, I would like you to meet…" I started as I motioned carelessly toward the young woman that was still standing silently beside me, and ignorantly batting her fake eyelashes at my younger brother as if she were trying to somehow fuck him with her barely educated young mind.

"Stefanie. My name is Stefanie." She said with the slightest amount of upset laced in her young voice as she put her hand on her slim hip, and then rolled her eyes dramatically. I nodded as I motioned toward her ignoring her childish display, and then pointed back toward my brother and Elena.

"Yes, of course. Stefanie, this is my brother Stefan, and his history partner, Elena." I said as I faked another sincere smile, and then sighed slightly under my breath. Stefanie smiled and waved innocently at my brother and Elena, and then stumbled slightly to the side.

"Nice to meet you both. Your home is really pretty." She said as she swayed slightly where she stood once again, and then finally leaned lightly against my shoulder in order to keep her balance. I rolled my eyes slightly as I pushed myself away from the wall that I had been leaning against, and then uneasily cleared my throat.

"How is the paper coming?" I asked as I shifted my gaze toward Elena who was now sitting just a little bit further away from Stefan, and desperately avoiding looking directly at me, but yet managing to intensely study my incredibly drunken excuse for a date.

"It's going really well. If it wasn't for Elena here, I'm pretty sure that I would fail the assignment completely." Stefan said with a smile as he winked at Elena causing her to blush slightly, and then me to nearly throw up the delicious waitress that I had enjoyed nearly eight hours before. _Yes, Stefan, of course you would fail because even though you actually lived through the Civil War you were far too much of a coward to actually participate in it._

"Well, I am glad that you two are making so much progress. Now, if you would both excuse me, I am going to go give Stefanie here the grand tour." I said with a smile as I took a step back out of the parlor, and then nodded suggestively toward my date. Stefanie smiled brightly as her cheeks flushed slightly pink, and then dirty images of what she assumed we were about to go do practically surged from her innocent blue eyes with incredibly heated fervor. _Oh, how I loved this part._

"Enjoy. Stefanie, it was nice to meet you." Stefan said kindly as he smiled politely, and then turned back to the books that lay splayed out before him as he moved slightly closer to Elena once again. Stefanie nodded slightly as she waved childishly one last time, and then moved behind me like a sweet little lamb being led to the slaughter.

"Good night, Elena. It is nice to see you again, as always." I said in a slightly lower tone as I turned my attention toward the doe eyed beauty that was still scanning my date carefully with her eyes, and twisting her thin fingers into the ends of her hair nervously.

"Good night, Damon." She said softly as her eyes finally moved over toward mine and then locked onto my gaze intently. I swallowed as I nodded my head slowly in acknowledgment of her words, and then suddenly felt the heat from her stare move over my chilled hungry skin in a strong burning wave that made me want to fuck her raw and then bleed her dry in front of anyone that was still present. _Fuck, I really needed to feed._

After a few moments of standing in the uneasy silence of what Elena still referred to as my living room, but was actually a formal parlor, I finally turned and led my date out of the main hallway and toward the long staircase that would finally take us both to the privacy of my bedroom. My mouth watered as the sound of the young woman's heartbeat beside me began to slowly pick up speed inside of her chest with every step we took closer to my quarters, and her blood moved faster through her veins with every inappropriate thought that flew through her young inexperienced mind. I swallowed as I felt my fingers beginning to dig deeper into the soft flesh of Stefanie's shaking left hand, and then in a second I realized something very important. _There was no fucking way that I was making it to my room._

_**Elena's POV:**_

The sound of burning hot flames crackling against charred wooden logs from the nearby stone fireplace was the only noise that I could seem to hear as I sat in a complete daze in the center of Stefan's living room, and pretended that I was actually paying attention to the newest research information that my history partner had just discovered online that he believed would work amazingly well for our paper. I nodded my head periodically with a forced smile twisted across my lips as the mundane explanatory words left Stefan's fast moving lips, but in reality what I was truly focused on was desperately attempting to still my erratically beating heart after my most recent interaction with Damon. I didn't know what it was about Stefan's older brother that seemed to put nearly every single nerve ending in my body on edge, but every time that I shared the same immediate space with him it felt as if I were having some sort of panic attack from which I could not escape from no matter how hard that I tried. Ever since the afternoon that I had run into him (literally) after searching for Stefan inside of their massive home, it felt as if I could not get Damon Salvatore out of my obviously insane young mind. His deep velvety smooth voice flowed into my eardrums even when he was nowhere to be found around me, and the electricity that seemed to practically radiate from every inch of his smooth alabaster skin whenever he was near me now even tortured me when he wasn't in my presence. The addictive scent of his body that smelled of sweet vanilla and rich bourbon flowed through my home that he had never even been in before every single second that I was in it, and the hypnotizing look in his hauntingly beautiful crystal eyes tortured me both when I was awake and even in my most intimate of dreams. I knew that my slightly obsessive thought pattern involving the elder Salvatore was definitely not a healthy one, but no matter what I tried I could not seem to get Damon Salvatore out of my mind. The logical side of me knew that nothing good could ever come from thinking this much about a man who looked like every single devilishly handsome villain that had ever graced a Hollywood movie screen, but the crazed side of my brain just could not shy away from his intense draw no matter how hard I tried. Damon Salvatore was mysterious, dangerous, and seemed like the complete opposite of everything that I had ever known in my entire life. His presence made me nervous, terrified and completely turned on in a way that I had never been before in all of the almost eighteen years that I had the pleasure to have been alive. He was sarcastic, mean, and incredibly unkind when he didn't get whatever it was that he wanted, and he didn't seem to care about anything other than himself. Damon was the absolute contradiction to everything that I had ever desired ever since I had discovered desire to begin with years before, and that fact alone seemed to unfortunately make me want him even more.

"Are you alright, Elena?" Stefan's voice finally asked immediately jarring me from my psychotic inner ramblings and bringing me back to reality with a painfully powerful push that I had apparently had desperately needed. I swallowed thickly against the lump that had formed inside of my throat, and then nodded slowly as I faked a nervous smile in an attempt to hide my incredible sudden unease.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to use the restroom. I'll be right back." I said quickly as I finally pushed myself up to my feet, and then turned toward the living room's entryway desperate to make my at least momentary escape from the suddenly uncomfortable living room situation that I had suddenly gotten myself into due to my own crazed thoughts. Stefan nodded as he smiled brightly at me.

"Hurry back." He said sweetly as he flipped through a few pages of our history textbook mindlessly with his fingertips, and then retrieved his pen from beside him on the floor. I nodded as I held my forced smile carefully in its place, and then walked quickly out of the room and toward the nearby main hallway's extensive staircase.

Slowly after a few moments of solitude, I finally felt my heart begin to slow slightly inside of my chest as I made my way carefully up the lengthy staircase of the Salvatore Boarding House (what it had apparently been used for in the 50's) and also silently soothed the frazzled nerves beneath my skin that were still jumping from a few moments before when Damon had been in my presence. I reminded myself (once again) that Stefan was an incredibly sweet guy that seemed to really like me and be interested in me for who I was, and that Damon was obviously an inconsiderate womanizer that couldn't even remember his own date's name an hour after meeting her. The elder Salvatore might have been a painfully beautiful man whose crystal blue stare threatened to melt through my clothing every single time that I was near him, but he wasn't exactly the kind of guy that I could ever see myself having anything more than a simple lovesick crush with. I had just broken up with my boyfriend only a little over a month before, and I was now spending a large amount of time with said older guy's younger brother who just so happened to treat me like a queen. I definitely needed to stop letting this incredibly mysterious acting man into my already chaotic mind, and start focusing on more important things. _Like what in the hell the noises were that were coming from upstairs._

The second that I reached the top of the staircase that led to the second floor of Stefan and Damon's home, I immediately knew that I should have not gone up there no matter what bathroom emergency I might have had at the time. As soon as I cleared the second floor landing, incredibly loud (and utterly pornographic) sounds surged through the air around me as I suddenly heard the cries of a woman that was either being blissfully tortured or painfully pleasured to complete exhaustion or even possibly death. I hoped and prayed that I would not have to pass whatever door that Damon and his idiotic little date, Stefanie, were behind in my search for the bathroom, but judging by how the sound was getting incredibly loud incredibly quickly, I had a bad feeling that I wasn't going to be that lucky. I swallowed thickly as I felt the light fluttering of butterflies begin to fly far too low in my stomach to be socially acceptable as the noises around me intensified, and then I felt my mind begin to scream loudly at me to turn around just as I walked directly passed the upstairs bathroom door. My heart pounded loudly in my ears as I tried to pull myself from the trance that I felt as if I was suddenly being pulled under, and then my eyes suddenly began to narrow in an attempt to focus as the air around me seemed to become muddled and unclear. The noises from the woman that Damon had brought home only a short time before quickly became incredibly louder as I moved slowly down the lengthy hallway before me, and then I felt my heart practically fly up into my throat as I finally rounded the last corner, and unexpectedly found the source of all of the noise pressed tightly against the opposing darkened wall.

To be completely honest, even though I was a senior in high school and had up until recently had a boyfriend that had been pretty handsy especially after victorious football games, I had never in my life seen anything like what I saw when I finally turned that upstairs corner. The woman that had been falling all over herself only a few minutes before due to what I could only imagine was her extravagant alcohol intake, was now digging her fingernails into what appeared to be the freshly painted wall behind her, and was also practically biting through her bottom lip in sheer pleasure at the same time. Stefanie's chest heaved as small moans escaped from her mouth in desperate pants, and her legs shook violently beneath her causing her whole body to tremble as she seemed to fight fiercely just to stay upright. Her wavy dark hair that had earlier been pulled up on top of her head into a neat ponytail now lay matted against the sides of her face in thick dark chunks, and sweat poured down her goose bump covered skin in thin streams of moisture that suddenly made the air around me seem even hotter than it had been only seconds before. Large darkened indentations that I assumed had to be hickey's covered nearly the entirety of Stefanie's neck and chest, and her long thin fingers were tangled into a mess of onyx hair that was settled between her thighs and making sounds of his own that caused my knees to shake just slightly beneath me where I stood just from the sound of them.

"Damon…" Stefanie moaned as I watched her pull harder against the handful of hair that she held desperately in her grip, and thus caused the man beneath her to groan in what I could only assume was complete and total pleasure. My mind spun as my brain sternly told me to stop intruding on the intimate interaction happening before me and go back downstairs where I belonged, but something incredibly strong seemed to hold me in my place, forcing me to remain completely still watching the couple's every single lust fueled move.

The air around me suddenly became incredibly thick as I continued to attempt to move from my place at the edge of the hall, and also at the same time attempt to take my eyes off of the erotic display that was going on directly in front of me. Unfortunately, I had no such luck with either of my intended tasks, and the sounds that were circling in the air around me seemed to only make my argument to leave even harder than the moment before even thought I couldn't logically figure out why. I watched in complete silence as the girl pressed up against the wall only a few feet in front of me gripped the man that I had been trying desperately to get out of my head ever since the week before, and then I felt my palms begin to sweat as she seemed to become closer to her end that I in my young life had never truly felt. The vision in front of me suddenly became almost hypnotic as details of the display seemed to change slowly before my eyes even though I knew that realistically that they couldn't possibly be true. Suddenly, the girl that Damon was pleasuring beyond her wildest dreams didn't look at all like the college student that he had brought home only a short time before, but instead now appeared like a slightly distorted mirror image of me. Stefanie's once wavy dark matted hair suddenly turned into the same straight chocolate tresses that adorned my very own head, and her once pale blue eyes suddenly seemed to become dark and brown just like mine. Her overly thin frame suddenly filled out slightly into a more hourglass shape, and her pale skin seemed to slightly darken into my very own olive tone. As if in some sort of trance, I stood practically paralyzed in the darkness of the hallway watching what appeared to be a strange vision of myself, and for a second I could almost feel the wetness of Damon's mouth on my skin kissing me in a place that I had never been kissed before. My core began to ache painfully as I tried desperately to separate reality from what I could only imagine was a deranged fantasy caused by total exhaustion, and just as I watched the muscles in what appeared to be my stomach begin to twitch tightly in euphoric pleasure, I finally saw Damon's head turn to the side and slowly meet my eyes. _Oh, shit.  
_

Damon's icy blue eyes locked in on my stare immediately as he slowly rolled back onto his knees, and away from the reflection of me that was still writhing helplessly against the darkened hallway wall behind her. He licked his suddenly crimson colored lips slowly as he ran his eyes hungrily over my form, and then smiled devilishly as he ran his hand slowly up his partner's thigh.

_Come here, Elena._

My heart nearly stopped inside of my chest as I heard Damon's soft seductive words ring through my head without his lips moving even an inch in order to possibly speak them. My throat immediately went dry as I felt my legs moving closer in the direction of where he was kneeling, and my mind seemed to fight desperately to pull away from the cloud of haze that seemed to be overtaking it with a greater force than I had ever fought before. My body ached as desires rose up inside of me that I did not recognize or even understand, and just as I finally stopped a few inches from where Damon sat, I finally looked up to notice that the girl against the wall wasn't in fact me at all. Damon's original drunken date with the dark wavy hair and the light blue eyes lay dazed against the hard surface behind her, and her eyes were rolled back in her head as if she had taken some kind of intense mind altering drug. The hickeys on her neck and chest looked messy and some appeared to possibly be bleeding, and as soon as her eyes opened and met mine, my brain snapped back to the reality that I so desperately craved. Without even thinking of an escape plan, I immediately turned around and took two unclear steps behind me just before I eventually slammed into a hard body that I hadn't been expecting at all. I gasped in surprise as I slowly raised my eyes above me, and then felt my skin practically burst into both flames and cold sweats as I looked up into Stefan's sparkling emerald eyes.

"Elena, are you alright?" Stefan asked as he stared down at me in what appeared to be confusion and also at the same time slight concern. I swallowed as I wrecked my brain for some sort of logical explanation so to explain exactly as to why I had just been found watching his brother go down on a girl that we had all just met only a half an hour before, but unfortunately nothing that made any sense came to mind.

"I…um… I came up here to use the bathroom, and I didn't know that they were…" I started as I pointed behind me and at the same time also tried to cover my now burning crimson face, but then saw confusion spread over Stefan's features as he glanced curiously in the direction that I had just pointed.

"They who, Elena?" He asked as he nodded behind me, and then shifted his weight slightly where he stood. I swallowed as I quickly turned around, and then nearly fainted as I noticed that the hallway behind me was completely empty. I looked around the space surrounding me in complete confusion, and then finally turned slowly back toward Stefan.

"They were just…" I started once again, but by this time, I knew that I just looked completely and totally insane in my incoherent rambling so I simply just ceased in speaking. Stefan stared down at me still with a look of concern covering his sharp features, and then smiled softly as he finally touched the side of my now dampened face.

"Are you feeling okay, Elena?" He asked softly as he watched me carefully and at the same time lightly caressed the curve of my cheek. I swallowed as I nodded slowly, and then dropped my eyes down to the carpet beneath me.

"Yeah, I um…just think that I am getting tired from studying so much tonight. Do you mind if I take off, and then we just pick up tomorrow at school?" I asked as I took a few steps toward the stairs and tried to put some much needed space between me and the hallway of illusion that I had just apparently been magically held prisoner in. Stefan nodded as he followed me down to the main floor of his house.

"Of course. Do you want me to walk you out?" He asked politely as I quickly began gathering my things in the expansive living room that I had just sprinted to, and also attempted to contain the panic attack that was threatening to erupt at any given moment. I quickly shook my head as I slipped on my shoes, and then zipped my bag up tightly.

"No, I am fine, but thank you. I will see you tomorrow, Stefan." I said politely and then gave my most convincing smile as I finally threw my backpack over my slightly shaking shoulder, and took another few quick steps back. I made my way as fast as I could out of the front door of the Salvatore's home, and then practically ran to the safety of my car as soon as I was out of Stefan's immediate vision. A lot of strange (and incredibly confusing) things had been happening ever since I had met the Salvatore brother's the week before, but there was one thing that I definitely knew for certain. Damon Salvatore was not the kind of man that I ever needed to get messed up with, and whatever had just happened in the hallway upstairs, just might have been what I needed to finally get that message clear in my head.

_**A/N: So what did everyone think? I am trying to get the chapters up as soon as I can and also make them as long and as good as humanely possible. Whose POV does everyone like the most? How are you enjoying the story so far? Please let me know and thank you to everyone that has read and is following this story. I hope everyone is enjoying and please review, I really appreciate it and it truly motivates me. Thanks! (P.S. Since I am publishing this late, I apologize if there are errors.) Please let me know what you think, thank you!  
**_

_**-VampTramp83**_


	4. Chapter Three: More Than Meets The Eye

_**Cruel and Unusual Punishment**_

"_Crimes of Passion Never Go Unpunished."_

_A dark tale of love, lust, pain and the unbreakable bond of blood._

_A Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction by _

_VampTramp83_

_**Chapter Three: More Than Meets The Eye**_

"_Lust is a dangerous thing. It can make you believe things that are not real. It can seduce your mind and lead it blindfolded to the cliff that will be its demise." –Alessandra Torre_

_**Damon's POV:**_

It was just after one o'clock in the afternoon when I found myself sitting in the peaceful silence of my home's parlor, and enjoying a very generously filled tumbler of bourbon that after the last few days that I had, I believed that I very justly deserved. Slowly, I leaned my aching head back against the soft cool leather material of the oversized lounge chair that I lazily sat in, and then I let out a deep sigh as I finally closed my exhausted irritated eyes. It had been two days since the night that Elena Gilbert had run from my home practically dripping with fear (among other delicious things), and subsequently also two painfully long days since she had been in my immediate presence. To be completely honest, my pornographic display that sweet little Elena had so innocently stumbled upon in my upstairs hallway, had not been the premeditated action that I was definitely sure that _some people_ in my home would have assumed it to be. On the night that I had returned home to find Elena and Stefan studying in my parlor in their sickenly sweet teenaged fashion, I had originally had every gentlemanly intention of taking my drunken little date for the evening to the privacy of my bedroom and thus then enjoy her behind my carefully sound proofed walls, but alas I had not been able to maintain a hold over my very delicate self-control long enough to make it that far. I do think that I should have received at least a small amount of credit for restraining myself as long as I had, given the circumstances that I had been under over the past few days since I had been back in my old home town of _Mystic Fucking Falls_, but of course I knew that request would go completely unfulfilled_._ I had selflessly scaled way back on the amount of blood (and women) that I was partaking in since I had left New Orleans, I had brought my level of deliciously sweet gratuitous violence down to a bare minimum, and I had also been spending an unbearable amount of time around my bitch of an ex-lover's angelic little twin without even slightly hurting one hair on her little head. I had somehow successfully spent nearly two weeks within the same city confines of the girl that had the exact same beautiful face as the woman that had both ripped my heart out, and given me multiple orgasms both in the same night over one hundred and forty years before, and I had not even once attempted to fuck her unconscious or murder her viciously due to my deep respect for my baby brother's carefully well thought out plan. Alright that last part was a lie, now I was just being an asshole. _Speaking of my dear baby brother…_

The soft purr of Stefan's cherry red vintage Porsche echoed suddenly throughout the room around me, immediately jarring me from my thoughts just as I looked up to notice that it was not yet even two o'clock in the afternoon. I sighed heavily as I propped my legs up on the arm of the chair that I still lounged in, and then casually waited for the explosion of century old teenaged emotions that I was sure I was about to experience, due to the fact that my brother had obviously gone through the great trouble of leaving school early just so that he could come home and speak with me. I licked my lips as I swallowed the last mouthful of bourbon that my tumbler had left to offer me, and then I dropped my glass carefully down onto the end table beside me just as the front door opened with a loud rush. I counted Stefan's twelve angry footsteps as he made his way closer toward the room where I reclined casually, and then I put on my most devilish smile as he finally made his way into my view.

"Shouldn't you be in school, young man?" I asked sarcastically as I raised one of my thick brows at my brother, and then winked at him from my seat about ten feet away from where he now stood. Stefan sighed as he threw his messenger bag down angrily onto the coffee table that he now stood in front of, and then moved slightly closer toward me with very slow premeditated steps.

"What the hell did you do to Elena, Damon?" He asked bluntly as he crossed his arms angrily over his chest, and then narrowed his green eyes at me in a manner that reminded me not so fondly of my thankfully deceased idiot of a father.

"Now, Stefan. Is that any way to talk to your guardian?" I asked with heavy sarcasm as I finally pushed myself up from the chair beneath me, and then onto my feet so that I could refill my tumbler that I obvious would need completely full if I was going to endure this conversation for longer than five seconds.

"Cut the crap, Damon. What the hell did you do to Elena when she was here the other night?" Stefan asked as he took another step closer toward me, and then straightened his stance as if he were attempting to become the alpha male that he honestly was just never meant to be. I shrugged my shoulders as if I had no idea what in the world that he was talking about, and then finally stopped moving once I had reached the small bar just toward the back of the parlor. I slowly filled my tumbler up nearly to the brim with my favorite vintage bourbon, and then lifted my eyes back up toward Stefan who still stood angrily glaring at me.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, baby brother. You were here that night, you remember what happened. I came home with my date, that I should mention probably should have had a transfusion when I was done with her, said hello to you fine folks, and then took her upstairs where I enjoyed her thoroughly until about three in the morning. That is all." I said in an innocent tone as I took a drink from my glass, and then leaned back slightly on my heels while still maintaining complete eye contact with my brother. Stefan sighed as he mirrored my stance, and then narrowed his eyes questioningly at me.

"That is all, Damon, really? I know that something happened upstairs, and I think that I deserve to know what it was. When I found her in the hallway she looked like she had seen a ghost and she was rambling on about finding something that made absolutely no sense to me at all. Now, she has barely said two words to me since she practically sprinted out of here, and I would like to know why." He said angrily as he tightened his arms over his chest, and then shifted his weight quickly to his other foot. I licked my lips as I desperately fought to contain the smile that begged to break out over my lips, and then casually shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know, Stefan. Maybe she saw something that she had never seen before, like a woman having a really good fucking time…_twice._" I said sarcastically as I wiggled my brow at my brother and then took another small drink from my glass. Stefan took a slow timid step forward as he squinted his eyes slightly in my direction, and then took in a quick deep breath.

"She walked in on you and that bimbo? What the fuck was she doing in your bedroom?" He asked with anger in his voice as if he had any reason to be upset about where Elena ventured off in her free time after knowing her for only eleven short days. I smiled as I shrugged slightly once again.

"Not exactly. Apparently, Elena came upstairs looking for the bathroom, and instead found me and my date in the…hallway." I said shortly as I played completely innocent while at the same time fondly remembering my evening that had turned out to be incredibly gratifying for me in more than simply one way.

"You were fucking that bitch in the hallway, Damon?" Stefan asked angrily as if he were somehow disappointed in my lack of morals that he knew that I hadn't had in over a hundred and forty years, and then rolled his eyes dramatically in my direction.

"I was enjoying her, Stefan…let's just leave it at that, shall we?" I asked with heavy sarcasm as I leaned back against the wall behind me, and then finally finished my second delicious glass of warm liquor. Stefan took a step forward, and in an instant I could tell that he was no longer amused with my snarky humor. _Although, I couldn't understand why. I was hilarious._

"Elena saw you feeding on her? Damon what the fuck is wrong with you? Why didn't you compel her? What if she tells somebody? You know how this fucking town is; we will be crucified if anyone finds out about us." He yelled emotionally as he was obviously teetering on the brink of having a complete nervous breakdown due to what he assumed had happened, and so I quickly held up one of my hands in order to save him from the massive coronary that he was about to endure.

"No, Stefan, calm down. Elena had no idea what I was doing. When she came upstairs she simply thought that I was just tongue fucking that delicious little tramp from the bar, and nothing else." I said trying to calm my overly dramatic brother down, and thus save him from adding yet another frown line to his already incredibly overcrowded forehead. There was a long silence as Stefan stared at me in slight confusion, and then he slowly licked his lips before he finally spoke once again.

"How do you know that was what she thought that you were doing, Damon?" He asked in a slightly accusatory tone as he took a small step closer toward me, and then once again fruitlessly attempted to intimidate me with his emerald stare. I shrugged as I grinned slightly to myself.

"I just know, Stefan. I've been around long enough to know what teenaged girls are thinking about, and most of the time it's me." I said sarcastically as I widened my eyes, and then took a few steps closer toward the entryway of the parlor so that I could possibly go find someone to eat, but unfortunately I didn't quite make it as far as I had intended. In a second, Stefan was in front of me with his hand on my chest and his green eyes wild with anger. _I am older, faster, and stronger than you baby brother. Watch those hands._

"Did you compel her, Damon? Did you compel, Elena?" He asked me in a furious tone as he stared angrily into my eyes, and then took a very unnecessary (and completely unwise) step toward me.

"No, Stefan, I did not compel her. I merely went fishing in her pretty little mind, but while we are on the topic, what if I had? Just a few seconds ago you asked me why I didn't compel her when you assumed that she had found out what I was, but now that issue is cleared up you are suddenly so concerned about if I had any other influence over her innocent little mind. Why the fuck do you even care what I did or didn't do to her?" I asked as I took a step closer toward my brother thus causing him to back up, and once again righting the balance of power between us.

"I just think that this will work out better if we stay out of her head whenever possible. I mean, it will be worse for her if she knows what is happening every step of the way. She needs to feel her emotions in order for this plan to work." Stefan stuttered slowly as his eye contact with me finally began to weaken, and his tone became slightly less strong than it had been a moment before. I nodded as I pressed my lips together in a tight line, and then shrugged my shoulders slightly at his answer.

"And, the real reason that you don't want me to compel her isn't because you are afraid that I am going to compel her into doing something that you wouldn't approve of, is it Stefan?" I asked as I moved forward once again backing my brother slightly further across the room, and causing his nerves to twitch slightly beneath his pale skin. Stefan sighed as he finally stopped moving, and then crossed his arms in front of his chest once again.

"Did you compel her to do something…like that, Damon? Maybe have her do something that Katherine used to do?" He asked as he looked at me with worried judging eyes, and an incredibly uneasy stance. I smiled as I let out an exasperated breath, and then rolled my eyes in complete disbelief.

"Seriously, Stefan? Have you ever known me to compel a woman to sleep with me? Yes, I have done a lot of horrible things, and yes I won't hesitate to feed and then erase in a moment's notice, but I have never ever had to compel a woman to take her fucking clothes off. Come on Stefan, have you fucking seen me?" I asked in a loud tone as I moved passed my brother after motioning quickly toward my body, and then started to make my way closer toward the front door, but then was suddenly stopped once again as my brother tightly caught my arm with his. _Oh, how I hated being touched._

"I just don't want you to lose sight of our plan just so that you can play make believe with Katherine's ghost. If this is going to work, we need to stay focused." Stefan said as I finally turned around to meet his desperate eyes, and incredibly worried face. I narrowed my gaze at him as I pulled my arm from his grasp, and then tilted my head slightly to the side.

"You want me to be focused, Stefan? You want me to not lose sight of the plan? Maybe you should look in the mirror, baby brother. For the past almost two weeks that we have been in this town you have been practically following the Gilbert girl around like a lost fucking dog. You drug me back here after all of these years so that we could supposedly end the Petrova bloodline, but so far all you have done is play house with Katherine's twin. If I wanted to fuck Elena, I would in a heartbeat, and from the look on her face and the thoughts that were going through her head the other night, she would more than just kind of like it. But, I am not here to get laid by someone dressed up like the evil cunt that destroyed both of our lives. I am here to kill two bitches whose face I never want to see again, and that is it. Now, I have morals to go compromise and poor decisions to make, so are we done here, brother?" I asked angrily as I stared at Stefan, and widened my stare at him. Stefan cleared his throat as I could tell that I had taken him off guard with my sudden explosion of anger, and then slowly nodded his head as he took a very wise step back.

"We are done here, Damon." He said quietly as he let out a heavy sigh, and then leaned back slightly on his heels. I nodded slowly as I grabbed my leather jacket from the hook beside the door, and then quickly made my way out of the front door and toward the peaceful silence of my car.

I sped quickly down the sparsely populated streets of _Mystic Falls_ for nearly ten minutes before I finally realized exactly where it was that I was going, and once I did realize, I couldn't seem to get there fast enough. My brother's idiotic accusations and incredibly poor self-control when it came to women circled around inside of my mind tortuously as I silently cursed ever agreeing to participate in this horrible excuse for a plan in the first place, and the faster that the anger rose inside of me, the faster my car moved down the highway. Getting involved in anything that Stefan had thought of had always been a poor idea (take completing my transition for example), and the fact that I had so easily come running back to this town that I wished had burned to the ground a century before, made me even more disappointed in my own ignorance than his. I was sick and tired of sitting back and watching Stefan fuck up nearly every single thing that he touched, and I was even more so tired of being told what to do by a fucking child after all of these years. If Stefan wasn't going to finish the game that he had originally started when he had picked up that phone a month before, well then as usual I would have to simply do it for him, and my way was never as pretty as his was.

After another few minutes of driving about twenty miles over the posted speed limit, I finally pulled my car into the back parking lot of _Mystic Falls High School,_ which by now was nearly completely void of cars. I parked my Camaro in the very back of the lot beneath some large red oak trees, and then stepped out onto the pavement with an evil smile spread across my lips. I looked to the left of where I walked and noticed that both the football team and the cheerleading squad were still practicing their incredibly pathetic homecoming routines, and therefore I had the privacy that I needed in order to not be caught in my hastily concocted devious plan. Slowly, I made my way toward one of the only two vehicles that were left in the small area around me, and then I finally stopped just at the rear of an expansive shiny black SUV as soon as I had reached it. I slowly pulled a large nail from my jeans pocket that I had so serendipitously found beneath the floorboard of my car, and then sighed with a smile as I drove it deeply into the vehicle's large back tire.

"Sorry, Elena. It looks like the gentle Salvatore dropped out of the race. I'll see you in about an hour, sweetheart." I said quietly as I finally pulled my hand back from the tire, and then smiled down at my magnificent handiwork. If I had left the wonderfully indulgent city of sin in order to murder someone at the request of my brooding self-absorbed baby brother, well there was one thing that I was definitely going to hold true. _Somebody was definitely going to fucking die, and that somebody was going to die really fucking soon._

_**Elena's POV:**_

It was just nearing sunset when I finally pulled my black Range Rover out onto the main highway just across from the back parking lot of _Mystic Falls High School_, and slowly began to make my five mile trek back toward my family's home after yet another seemingly endless day of school. The past ten hours that I had endured at the hands of the Northern Virginia Public School System had been tedious and mind numbing as I had bounced thoughtlessly from class to class, and then eventually danced my way through the meaningless motions of my cheerleading squad's latest homecoming routine. Only a short time before, the idea of beginning my senior year of high school would have put a giant smile on my face, and caused wild excitement to surge through my inexperienced young mind. I had been looking forward to finally being a senior on my way to college ever since I had started middle school so many years before, but now that I was actually living in my once imagined fantasy, the reality of the situation didn't taste nearly as sweet as I had thought that it eventually would. In the last year of my life, I had lost my parents, my three year relationship with my boyfriend Matt, and now seemed to be losing my brother to his steadily increasing debilitating drug problem at the speed of light. Nothing about what had been promised to be the greatest year of my life was turning out the way that I had planned, and even though I really felt as if I was trying, life just didn't seem to be moving on like everyone else had promised me months before that it would. My once pristine grades were gradually starting to drop, I suddenly absolutely loathed the things that I had loved just the year before, and now over the past few months even my most treasured friendships were starting to fall apart around me. Nothing was the same as it had been when my parents had still been alive, and it appeared as if it never would be ever again. Every moment now seemed to present a new obstacle for me to be forced to somehow overcome, and the past two weeks since I had started school, had been absolutely no exception. Even simply setting aside the family and social problems that the most recent tragedies in my life had created, there was still now even yet another issue that had arose that I couldn't seem to quite figure out. It was an issue called the Salvatore brothers.

It had been just shy of forty-eight hours since I had last visited the Salvatore Boarding House that before the night that I still refused to admit that I had actually simply imagined, I had been present in nearly every night of the week. After I had ran as quickly as my legs could carry me away from the completely confusing and hauntingly realistic hallucination that I had apparently suffered from just outside of what I assumed to be Damon's bedroom, I had rushed home and promised myself that I would put some much needed distance between me and the older Salvatore brother that I was certain was attempting to drive me absolutely insane. Now, since I had decided to put said distance between me and Mr. Salvatore Sr., I had also consequently been forced to put distance between me and my incredibly sweet history partner that had been a completely innocent bystander in this whole unfortunate messed up situation. To be completely honest, I felt absolutely horrible about having to practically end the newfound friendship that I had just created with Stefan just because his brother seemed to be haunting me on a daily basis, but the facts remained the same that I simply could not handle whatever it was that was happening between me and the older Salvatore sibling. Damon had somehow pushed his way into my brain in an obsessive way that no other person in my entire life ever had , and now that he was in there, it felt as if he was fighting like hell in order to stay.

Ever since I had first met Damon Salvatore exactly eleven days before, he had crossed my mind at least twenty times throughout the duration of my usual day. I would think that I saw him when I was crossing the busy campus at my school, imagine that I was hearing his voice when I was sitting in the peaceful silence of my bedroom, and even think that I smelled the intoxicating scent of his skin when he was absolutely nowhere to be found. After the night that I had walked in on his amateur porno, however, my mind had slowly began to shift from my simple teenaged obsession into something much more frightening. Suddenly, my dreams had also become consumed with Damon as well as my mindless daydreaming in the light. Every night when I would close my eyes, I would drift off to sleep and within seconds I would find myself lost in the icy blue stare that seemed to consume me whenever I was near it. My dreams were not exactly dirty, but they were also definitely not clean. The images that I saw and the words that I heard while I was asleep did not make any sense to me when I took them in around me, but every single piece of information that I absorbed in my dreams of the elder Salvatore seemed to seep into my bones and stay with me no matter where it was that I went. Even now, as I sat in the silence of my car driving down the empty road ahead of me, I could feel him somewhere around me. I could smell his skin, see his eyes, and hear his voice calling me to him even though I had no idea where he was. _Wait, that wasn't a voice…what the hell was that sound?_

Quickly, I pulled myself out of my confusing Damon obsessed mind, and then finally completely took in the noise ringing in my ears that now seemed so loud that I couldn't believe that I hadn't heard it before. The heavy sound of something thumping against the asphalt beneath me began to echo noisily throughout the car around me, and the tension of my steering wheel suddenly became incredibly tight and almost impossible to maneuver. I immediately tightened my grip on the stiff leather beneath my hands, and then finally put the puzzle pieces together in my head that eventually told me what all of the sudden commotion was about. _I had a freaking flat tire._

"Shit." I groaned to myself as I finally guided my car off to the shoulder of the road, and then shifted into park just after my car came to a sudden stop. I sighed loudly to myself as I reached over to the passenger seat beside me, and then quickly fished my cell phone out of my incredibly disorganized tan purse. I quickly scrolled through my overcrowded list of contacts, and then after I finally selected my Aunt Jenna's number, I quizzically stared down at the screen before me in complete confusion as I read the automated message that had popped up suddenly when I had pressed send.

"No radio connection? What the hell?" I asked out loud to no one in particular as I slowly figured out that my phone was apparently telling me that I did not have any signal, and therefore I now had absolutely no way home. How in the hell did I not have any signal? I had driven the same route to and from school every day for the past two years, and my phone had always worked for me before. _This was not my freaking day._

"Fine. I suppose this day can't get any worse." I said quietly to myself as I quickly slid my phone back into my purse and then removed my keys carefully from the ignition. I quickly opened the driver's side door to my car, and then stepped out onto the street before me into the early evening air.

The highway that I had been driving on was completely deserted for as far as I could see as I stared out over the blacktop around me, and carefully searched for any signs of human life. Finally, after about five minutes of staring into absolute nothingness, I eventually moved around the front of my car, and stepped into the tall grass just off the side of the road. I had lived in the small town of _Mystic Falls_ for my entire life, and thankfully for that I just so happened to know nearly every inch of the area around me as if it were the back of my hand. When I had been a child, my brother and I had played in the woods all around the small town as if it were our backyard, and if memory served me correctly, the small wooded area just to my right just so happened to lead back to my neighborhood about three miles away. Now, I realized that walking through the woods at night in the middle of nowhere wearing a cheerleading uniform and not much else was not exactly the safest thing in the world, but at that point in my day I didn't figure that I had much else of a choice. My car had a flat tire, my cell phone wasn't working, and all of the roads around me were completely empty for as far as the eye could see. If I wanted to get home, I would have to get there on foot or not get there at all, and I sure as hell wanted to get there.

Quickly, I began to make my way through the tall grass that led away from the side of the road that I had previously been standing on, and toward the wooded area before me. I pushed my way through the first group of large unkept trees that lined the outside of the small forest, and then didn't even bat an eye when I noticed that it had (of course) lightly started to rain. I continued moving through the full foliage around me, and then quickly found myself beginning to walk in what felt like circles even though I could have sworn that I had been walking completely straight the entire time. After about fifteen minutes (I suspected) of movement, I finally found myself right back where I had started only a short time before, and staring around my body in complete and totally confusion. I searched the area around me for any signs of the direction that I should now attempt to go, and then let out an exasperated sigh in complete desperation.

"Where the hell?" I asked myself as I sighed in exhaustion, and then turned around once again suddenly feeling completely confused with my once familiar surroundings. Finally, I took another few steps further back into the wooded area before me, and then froze immediately where I stood when I heard the rush of movement behind me from what sounded like some sort of animal.

A lump settled heavily at the base of my throat as I quickly turned my head to my left to see if I could identify whatever the creature was that I suspected was now quite close to me, but unfortunately, I could not see barely a few inches in front of my face now due to the steadily progressing rain and the darkness of the woods around me. I swallowed thickly as I took a few timid steps forward, and then felt my heart begin to thunder inside of my chest just as I heard the sound of branches rustling behind me, and then leaves being crushed against the damp earth.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" I asked shakily as I quickly began to pick up my pace, and then after a few seconds of silence, I eventually began to run…_fast._

My heart slammed against the delicate walls of my chest as I quickly found myself running over the muddy earth beneath my feet, and pushing through the dripping plants around me as fast as my body would carry me. I shoved my way past tree after tree before me, but no matter how fast that I ran, I could still hear the movement of something animalistic moving somewhere close behind me. A painful burn immediately settled deep inside of my lungs as I struggled to breathe against my own fear, and the now quickly flowing rain water clouded my terrified vision as I attempted to move even faster through the seemingly never-ending woods around me. My long dark hair was matted heavily against the back of my neck in a thick damp sheet of torment, and I could feel my makeup beginning to run down my face in dirty wet streams from the rain's intense torture as I moved. I gasped as I heard the noise behind me become even closer than before, and then just as I felt something incredibly strong wrap around the back of my shoulder, I screamed out loudly at the top of my lungs.

"Elena?" I heard a familiar man's voice ask loudly as he pulled me forcefully back toward him, and subsequently pulled yet another terrified shriek from my lips. The man turned me around toward him quickly, and then I finally met the familiar crystal blue eyes of the person that had only moments before spoken my name.

"Damon?" I panted breathlessly as I put one of my hands over my erratically beating heart, and then blinked away a few raindrops that still clung desperately to my lashes. Damon tilted his head to the side as he seemed to study me in what appeared to be confusion, and then pushed his dripping wet onyx colored hair away from his face.

"Are you alright, Elena?" He asked as he drug his eyes carefully over my wet shaking form, and then eventually returned his gaze back up to my still completely terrified brown eyes. I nodded as I swallowed thickly, and then licked my trembling lips.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Damon, what are you doing out here?" I asked as I took a step back away from him, and studied his expression carefully looking for any trace of a lie. Damon sighed as he motioned back toward the space behind him with one of his large hands.

"I was on my way home, and I saw your car pulled off to the side of the road. I stopped to see if you were okay, and then when I got out, I noticed that your car was empty. I thought that something might have happened, so I came looking for you." He said carefully in an actually concerned tone of voice that I hadn't ever heard from him before. I sighed in relief as I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I thought that this was the way back to my house, so I was trying to cut through. I got a flat tire, and then my cell phone wouldn't work so I was just trying to get home on foot." I explained as I pushed my now drenched hair away from my face, and then took in a deep breath. Damon nodded, and then tilted his head slightly to the side and smiled widely.

"Do you mind if we continue this conversation in my car? I really hate the fucking rain." He said with a small laugh that was actually incredibly sexy, and also something that I hadn't ever seen from him before. I nodded as I smiled and then let out another sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Damon." I said quickly. Damon nodded and then turned back in the direction that he had come from just a few feet behind me. I took a step toward him preparing to follow, and then looked down and noticed that he had his hand outstretched toward me as if he were waiting for me to take it. I swallowed nervously as I stared down at the strangely intimate gesture from the man that I had only known (and yet pornographically fantasized over) for barely two weeks, and then finally lifted my eyes to meet the crystal blue one's that were intensely staring in my direction.

"I won't bite, Elena. Just come with me." He said slowly in a voice so low that it seemed to sink inside of me in a delicious way that I didn't know words ever could, and then wrap around my bones causing me to heat immediately from the inside out. Finally I nodded, and then reached out my hand, and slipped my fingers carefully into his.

"Let's go." I whispered softly, and then with that, Damon led me out of the woods and back to his beautiful midnight blue Camaro that was parked directly behind my Range Rover.

The second that I slid into Damon's passenger side seat, he immediately switched on the heat to full blast, and then kindly pointed the vents in my direction. He started his car up quickly with an effortless flick of his wrist, and then took off down the highway ahead of him like a bat out of hell. I relaxed back against the soft worn leather interior of the seat behind me, and then finally turned my head toward Damon just as my skin finally began to warm.

"Thank you for stopping, and looking for me." I said softly as I admired the beautifully dark shadowed profile of Damon's alluring face. Damon nodded as he smiled.

"No problem, Elena. I'm just glad that you are okay. It really isn't safe for a beautiful girl like you to be wandering around in the dark in the middle of a storm like this." He said in a sweet tone as he turned his car onto a side road just to the right of us, and toward what I now knew to be my neighborhood. I smiled as I bit down on my bottom lip, and then felt my skin blush slightly from his compliment.

"Well, thank you again. So, um…how is everything?" I stammered slightly as I foolishly attempted to make polite small talk with Damon, even though I had never really had an actual conversation with him before, and I had no idea exactly how to truly have one. Damon smiled as he nodded his head slowly, and then ran his tongue carefully over his full bottom lip. _Jesus, I loved it when he did that._

"Everything is fine, Elena. How is everything with you? I haven't seen you around in a few days." He said in a lower tone suddenly reminding me of the reasons (or at least one of the reasons) that I had been staying away from the Salvatore's, and thus immediately causing my stomach to ball into tight uncomfortable knots.

"Yeah, um…everything is fine. I just…um…have been busy with school work, and cheerleading, and stuff like that." I stuttered as I quickly turned my head toward the window beside me and immediately began to pretend to study the intricate jagged streams of water that were adorning the outside of Damon's passenger side window. Damon nodded slowly.

"Well, Stefan sure has missed you. He has been brooding ever since you left the other night." He said with a small smile as I noticed that he glanced quickly my way, and then slowly returned his gaze back to the road. I nodded as I shrugged my shoulders, and then once again avoided Damon's eyes.

"Oh, well…I just had some stuff that I needed to do." I said quickly as I felt my face turn red once again as images of the night in question flashed through my head no matter how hard I attempted to fight them away.

"My brother is very smitten with you, Elena. I am sure that you are well aware of that." Damon said very matter of factly as he nodded toward me, and then began to tap his fingers lightly against the tattered leather of his steering wheel. I swallowed as I felt my knees beginning to shake slightly beneath me for some unknown reason.

"Stefan is very nice." I said quietly as ran my fingers quickly through my dampened mess of hair, and then turned toward Damon just as I heard him begin to laugh low inside of his throat.

"Nice, Elena? No guy wants to be called nice." He said with a heavy humor in his voice as he turned the last corner on the route toward my home, and then slowed slightly in his speed.

"Why not? Nice is good. Girls like nice." I said as I shrugged, and desperately attempted to divert the conversation from the earlier slightly uncomfortable topic. Damon smiled as he tilted his head toward me in slight sarcasm.

"Yes, girls like nice, Elena. But, girls don't like to screw nice." He said provocatively as he winked casually in my direction. My heart began to immediately pick up speed inside of my chest as the tone of Damon's voice seemed to sink into parts of me that I had never felt before, and quickly cause my body temperature to rise.

"So, Stefanie didn't think that you were nice?" I asked suddenly without the permission of my brain, and then immediately regretted asking the second that the question left my lips. _Holy shit, what did I just say?_

"I'm sorry. I mean…" I started, but by this point I had no idea what to say in order to save my ass, and the fact that Damon was smiling in an incredibly sexy and also slightly intimidating way was not helping matters when it came down to my erratically beating heart, and obviously insane brain.

"Its okay, Elena. I think that you should know better than anyone if Stefanie thought that I was nice." He said in a low voice that immediately sent a chill up my spine, and caused my mouth to go completely dry on impact. _What the hell did he mean by that?_

"What do you…?" I started to ask just as Damon turned his Camaro into my driveway, and then quickly shifted his car into park.

"Home sweet home." Damon said suddenly as he completely ignored my half question, and then nodded innocently toward my house. I swallowed as I tried to shake myself from the awkward conversation that I had just been involved in, and then suddenly felt another bout of unease wash over my nearly wrecked system as I slowly looked toward my front door.

"Wait, how did you know where I lived?" I asked suddenly realizing that I had never once told Damon where my house was, and that even his brother had never been over to see me here before. Damon smiled as he leaned his head back against the seat behind him, and then casually turned his head toward mine.

"I used to live in Mystic Falls, Elena. I know where everybody lives." He said slowly as his eyes locked in on mine, and held me almost forcefully to him with his beautiful gaze. I slowly swallowed as I felt my mind beginning to spin, and then let out a shaky uneasy breath.

"Do you want to come inside?" I asked in a voice that I barely recognized, and for the life of me couldn't understand why I had used. Why in the hell would I invite Damon inside of my house, and why the hell did I sound like I was drugged out of my mind? Damon simply smiled as he watched me.

"Why would you want me to come inside?" He asked in a low voice that made my palms sweat, and my mind scream answers to his question that my mother (and everyone else that I knew for that matter) would be completely ashamed of.

"I…um…I could make you some coffee. I want to thank you for helping me." I said in a lazy sounding voice as my eyes stayed locked on the bright blue orbs in front of me, and my heart began to pound even faster inside of my chest. Damon licked his lips, and smiled.

"I would love to. Thank you, Elena." He said kindly, and then quickly shut off his engine just before we both made our way out of his car.

Slowly, I led Damon up the short walkway that led to my front door, and then after watching him stand awkwardly in my entryway for much longer than he needed to, I finally invited him inside of my home. Once I entered the house that I had lived in since I was born, I quickly noticed that no one else was home and therefore I was now completely alone with Stefan's mysterious older brother. I faked a confident smile as I caught Damon watching me carefully out of the corner of his eye as I lead him toward my kitchen, and then I quickly offered him a seat at the small wooden table in the center of the room just as I finally moved hesitantly toward the counter.

"Regular or Decaf?" I asked quietly as I moved nervously toward my small coffee pot, and then carefully pulled out the old filter just before tossing it into the trashcan beside me. Damon shrugged as he watched me intently.

"Surprise me." He said quickly as he flashed a seductive smile. I nodded as I reached into the cupboard, and then grabbed the coffee grounds quickly from above me. _Something was wrong here. I could feel that something was definitely wrong._

After a few minutes of uneasy silence and Damon intensely watching me prepare his drink, I finally set a full cup of hot coffee down onto the small kitchen table in front of him, and then retreated back toward the small porcelain kitchen sink. I carefully washed my hands in the water from the faucet as I tried to tell myself that I was being completely crazy for thinking that something bad was about to happen, and then nearly jumped out of my skin as I felt Damon approach me suddenly from behind.

"Did you want something else?" I asked uneasily as I slowly turned around, and then suddenly found myself incredibly close to the elder Salvatore that had apparently shed his leather jacket, and was now standing in front of me in his soaked dark blue T-shirt while staring down intensely at my face.

"Why didn't you leave when you first saw me and Stefanie in the hallway the other night?" Damon asked in a low voice as he stared down into my eyes intently, and then tightened his jaw into a tight strong line. I swallowed as I dropped my stare down to his lips, and then swallowed thickly inside of my throat.

"I imagined that." I whispered even though I knew that my answer sounded idiotic, it was unfortunately the only one that I had.

"No you didn't, and you know that you didn't. Now, I will ask you again. Why didn't you leave, Elena?" He asked in a slightly more dominant tone as I felt his fingers slip under my chin, and then raise my eyes back up to his. I swallowed as I finally met his icy blue stare once again, and then suddenly felt the words that I needed come quickly into my mind.

"I couldn't." I answered carefully as I stared at him. Damon tilted his head to the side in what appeared to be confusion, and then slowly licked his full lips.

"I didn't notice that you were standing there until after you had already been watching for a while, why couldn't you leave before that?" He asked in a question that I didn't exactly understand, but I felt forced to answer just the same. My breathing immediately began to quicken as I started to fall into the strength of his stare once again, and then quickly words that I hadn't prepared began to tumble out of my mouth.

"You wanted me to see. I wanted me to see." I answered without the consent of my mind, causing my eyes to quickly close in embarrassment, and thus slow the swirl of confusion inside of my mind.

"You have no idea what I wanted; now open your eyes, Elena." Damon said in a tensed slightly angry tone as his fingertips slipped over my jaw, and then began gently caressing the side of my face. I sighed as I turned into his touch slightly, and then slowly opened my eyes almost against my will.

"She looked like me." I whispered as I finally met his stare, and then felt my skin begin to burn against me as vivid images from the night in the hallway began to flash before my eyes. Damon looked down at me with a hint of confusion on his face, and then he quickly blanked his expression once again.

"Go to bed, Elena. Tomorrow you will start working on your history paper again with my brother, and you will not remember that we had this little talk." He said carefully as he held my gaze tightly with his. I nodded slowly as I felt my lips repeat his words, and then before I realized what was happening, I felt Damon's mouth move just over the soft flesh of mine. _God, kiss me please._

"You should be afraid of me, Elena. I could do things to you that even your worst nightmares couldn't handle." He whispered against my mouth as he brushed his lips lightly against mine, and then pulled me into his cool hypnotic gaze once again. I swallowed as I felt words shoot into my mind that I hadn't realized that I had thought, and then began to swirl around my head in confusion.

"But you won't, Damon." I whispered, and just as I saw a look of slight terror move across Damon's beautiful face, I suddenly felt the room around me begin to spin completely out of control. I could feel my body moving even though I knew that I was not the one moving it, and then before I realized what was happening, I felt the softness of my bed push against the flesh of my aching back. The day behind me suddenly broke into pieces in my mind, and before I could stop it, some of the small pieces seemed to somehow slip away from me before I could even attempt to catch them. After a few moments of lying in a complete mesmerizing haze, I finally closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep. The only thing that I could remember as I felt my dreams beginning to overtake me was bright blue eyes, and the soft feel of Damon's lips.

_**A/N: Alright, so what did everyone think of this chapter? I am adding some twists and turns and as you can see there is something more than just simple compulsion happening as far as Damon and Elena are concerned, but what is it? Anyway, I promise to post another chapter ASAP and I really hope that everyone likes this. Please please, leave a comment or review for me, and if you also want to follow me on twitter, my handle is vampwriter83. Thank you all for reading, please review! **__** -VampTramp83**_


	5. Chapter Four: Consumed By You

_**Cruel and Unusual Punishment**_

"_Crimes of Passion Never Go Unpunished."_

_A dark tale of love, lust, pain and the unbreakable bond of blood._

_A Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction by _

_VampTramp83_

_**Chapter Four: Consumed By You**_

_"I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed."_

— _A.S. Byatt (Possession)_

_**Elena's POV:**_

The soft sound of cicadas chirping in the trees above me buzzed loudly in my tired ears as I slowly climbed out of my once again completely dirt covered Range Rover, and stepped down onto the cool uneven asphalt of the Salvatore Boarding House's driveway. I released a deep exhale as I hesitantly lifted my eyes up toward the large expanse of the home that sat in an eerie silence before me, and then slammed my driver's side door closed tightly behind me. It had been just over a week since I had been rescued from the darkness of the _Mystic Falls_ wilderness by Damon Salvatore, and exactly one week since I had once again resumed preparations on my history paper with his younger brother Stefan. The night that Damon had retrieved me from the woods just before I had most likely been torn to pieces by some sort of southeastern wildebeest, had been a night of complete and total confusion that even my chaotic young mind still had not yet been able to decode. The list of things that I did actually recall from the elusive night that now lay behind me was quite simple, and it also happened to be quite short. I remember getting a flat tire on my way home from cheerleading practice just before my phone had lost all signal, and then I remember deciding to cut through the woods off to the side of the road in order to attempt to make it back as quickly as humanely possible to my family's home. I then remember running through the forest terrified for my life after hearing what sounded like some sort of animal chasing closely behind me, and I definitely remember getting into Damon's car after he had found me just after it had started to rain, and then having a very uncomfortable conversation about what I had possibly seen in his second floor hallway just a few days before. However, once Damon had finally pulled his car into my family's driveway, the events of the rest of the evening started to become incredibly confusing and almost as if they had all been a part of some sort of hazy type of dream. I remember that I did in fact make Damon a pot of coffee that the next morning I realized that he had never even drank, and I also know that I apparently tracked mud throughout most of the entire downstairs which my aunt was not pleased with at all whenever she had finally returned home. I also somehow changed into my pajamas at some point in the evening which I do not recall at all, and then I slept for nearly ten hours in an incredibly deep sleep as I did not wake up until nine o'clock the next morning from what felt like some sort of coma. Everything in between those few details that I could even now barely recall was still a complete and total mystery to me, and to be honest, I didn't have the guts to actually find the older Salvatore brother and ask him if anything else had happened. I did however; know two very important things that even my apparent selective amnesia hadn't forced me to somehow forget. One, ever since the night in question I had for some reason been really motivated to work on my history paper with Stefan, and two, I now craved Damon Salvatore even more so than I had the week before. _Which was already a whole hell of a lot._

It had been exactly nine days since I had last actually been in the physical presence of Stefan's older brother, but just because I hadn't seen him with my own eyes, did not mean that I had not seen him every day inside of my mind. Ever since the night that Damon had apparently left my house without my knowledge, he had been lodged inside of my brain even more so than he had been the week before. Every day when I sat in the mind numbing repetitive drivel that my _Mystic Falls High School _courses had to offer me, my thoughts would immediately escape me, and suddenly I would not be in my classroom anymore at all. Instead, I would find myself back at the Salvatore Boarding House searching desperately for Damon, and even though I knew that I had only imagined it, every detail that I saw appeared to be so incredibly real. I could feel the lush expensive imported carpet beneath my feet as I moved up the extensive staircase toward Damon's room. I could smell the sweet scent of vanilla floating through the air and directing me to where he was sitting waiting me to come to him, and I could even taste the delicious flavor of his lips on mine even though I knew that I had never actually tasted them before. My day dreams became more and more vivid with every new day that found me, but even my wildest fantasies that came to me in the light could never in any way compare to what nearly completely consumed me at night.

The week before, my dreams of Damon Salvatore had irritated me in ways that I could not explain no matter how hard that I might have tried. It had felt as if Damon were trying to drive me completely insane with his strange presence inside of my mind, and the fact that he would not leave made me more and more so angry with every uneasy night that he seemed to have unknowingly created. However, ever since the night that Damon had brought me home from the terror of the woods, my dreams had gotten a lot less…_inconvenient _than they had been before_._ Every night when the sun would go down, and I would finally crawl beneath the warm confines of my queen sized bed, it felt as if Damon Salvatore shone in through my bedroom window like the bright light of the moon, and then tormented me ruthlessly until I finally saw the sun once again. Night after night, I tossed and turned as I tangled myself desperately into the thick blankets that covered my bed, and unsuccessfully fought the vivid images of the elder Salvatore that caused my skin to burn and my heart to pound furiously inside of my chest. My nails had ripped through three sets of actually quite high quality sets of sheets over the past seven days, and just the night before, I had somehow bitten down on my bottom lip so roughly that I had broken the skin causing my blood spill down onto my newest set of pajamas. Every morning I awoke to sweat pouring quickly down my skin as if I had been trapped in the desert for the entirety of my night, and on the rare occasion that I did finally pull myself out of my dreams earlier than my alarm clock required, I just so happened to find myself in the middle of intense blissful releases that I had never in my life before yet experienced. I knew that my preoccupation with Damon was incredibly unhealthy and getting more so with each passing day, but even though I cognitively realized that what I was doing was incredibly destruction to my psyche, I couldn't seem to force myself to turn it off no matter how hard that I tried.

"Elena?" Stefan's voice finally asked jarring me from my thoughts, and quickly helping me to realize that I was now standing at the Boarding House's front door, and had apparently been standing there in a thought induced haze for much longer than I had realized.

"Hey Stefan, sorry I am late…traffic." I stuttered as I forced a small smile onto my lips, and then quickly shifted my weight to my other foot praying that he wouldn't pick up on the unease written all over my face. Stefan smiled as he nodded and then opened the door slightly further in front of me.

"Not a problem, I was just finishing up dinner." He said as his smile widened slightly and he slowly motioned for me to come inside with his right hand. I nodded as I narrowed my eyes at him slightly, and then hesitantly stepped inside.

"You cooked? I figured that we would just order pizza or something?" I asked in confusion as I immediately smelled the mouthwatering scent of Italian seasonings wafting through the air around me as soon as I crossed over the home's main threshold.

"Now why would I order pizza when I just so happen to be a fantastic cook all on my own?" Stefan asked in a flirtatious tone as he closed the front door tightly behind me, and then motioned toward the parlor with a nod of his head. I shrugged my shoulders as I followed him cautiously.

"I just figured that would be easier after being at school all day, but I love home cooking. What are you making? It smells delicious." I said as I inhaled the air around me deeply once again and then stepped into the parlor just before dropping my knap sack down onto the floor just beside one of the large leather sofas.

"I am making chicken parmesan with my mother's famous homemade sauce, and it should be done any minute now. I thought that I would use our movie night as an excuse to show off my delicious Italian roots." Stefan answered with a smile as he retrieved a DVD from his large coffee table, and then began making his way quickly toward the expansive plasma screen television that hung on the opposing wall. I smiled as I shrugged off my jacket, and then casually sat down on the edge of the sofa beside me.

"Well, I can't wait to try it. I still cannot believe that you are actually forcing me to sit through three hours of _Gone With The Wind_ though. I have never watched a movie that long of my own free will_._" I said with a small laugh as I ran my fingers through my slightly messy long hair, and then straightened my black tank top down over my mid-section.

"Once you actually see it all the way through you will not think that I am forcing you. It's a great movie, and a classic I might add." Stefan said with a wink after he hit the play button on his DVD player, and then began making his way casually back toward me. I smiled as I leaned back against the soft cool cushions of the sofa behind me, and then turned my head toward where Stefan had just finally sat down.

"So, do we have the house to ourselves tonight?" I asked in the most casual voice that I could possibly force when speaking of Stefan's older brother as I quickly crossed one of my legs over the other, and smiled my most innocent smile.

"Yes, we do. It seems that my brother had some things that he needed to take care of tonight and therefore I finally get you all to myself." Stefan said with a smile as he moved slightly closer toward me, and then flashed an incredibly flirtatious smile. I swallowed nervously as I could almost feel the naughty insinuation in his tone, and then slowly nodded my head.

"That's great." I said as I held my smile forcefully in place, and silently wondered exactly where it was that Damon had suddenly run off to. Stefan and I had been working on our history paper in the privacy of the library for the past week, and tonight was the first night that I had been back to their house ever since I had run from it over seven days before. I didn't want to admit that I was actually disappointed by the fact that I wouldn't get to see the elder Salvatore finally in person after what had felt like a lifetime, but I also couldn't lie to myself and pretend that I was relieved that I wouldn't be forced to look at his alarmingly beautiful masculine face. I had wanted to see Damon ever since I had awoken the morning after he had left my home without my knowledge, and even though the dreams that had been torturing me ever since that night had become incredibly satisfying, it still didn't feel like even close to enough when it came to someone like him.

"Ah, I hear the timer going off for the pasta. I will be right back with your dinner Madame." Stefan said in an overly fake formal voice just as he pushed himself up from the sofa, and then with a smile made his way out of the parlor and toward the kitchen.

"I'll be right here." I said with a cheerful expression just as Stefan made his way out of the room, and then I slowly let my false happiness fade away once I realized that he was finally out of my immediate view.

About an hour later, I found myself sitting in my same spot on Stefan's incredibly comfortable sofa, and completely filled from an actually very delicious homemade dinner. I had thanked Stefan profusely for cooking for me when he honestly hadn't needed to, and then we both settled under a blanket and turned our attention toward the old South and Hollywood's interesting interpretation of the Civil War. The movie was actually incredibly interesting and also very romantic as far as love stories were concerned, but I couldn't lie and say that I definitely could have done without the movie lasting even longer than _Titanic_ had. Stefan, on the other hand, seemed completely enthralled by the movie, and also just so happened to use it as an excuse to cozy up extremely close to me, and even not so casually attempt to kiss me twice. I hadn't turned him down or been rude to him or anything like that, but something seemed to pull me forcefully away from him that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but to be completely honest, I actually really appreciated the help from.

"Hello children, and how are we this evening?" A velvety voice suddenly asked from behind me immediately breaking through the silence of the room, and causing my finally stilled nerves to once again go on high alert. I sat up straight immediately on the sofa beneath me as if I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, and was preparing for some sort of unknown punishment that I didn't completely understand.

"I thought you had plans, brother? You couldn't have possibly run out of young girls to corrupt this early in your evening." Stefan said sarcastically as he seemed to study my newly held expression carefully, and then tighten his jaw quickly in response.

"Actually, you would be rather surprised how quickly I can work, but that isn't the reason that I am home." Damon answered as he moved further into the parlor, and then dropped down onto an oversized leather arm chair just before kicking his feet up onto the small table in front of him. I swallowed thickly as I forced my eyes to remain fixed on the television screen in front of me as he moved, but no matter how hard that I tried it felt as if someone were pulling my head in Damon's direction, and refusing to let me go.

"So, what brings you home so early on a Friday night, then? Cops after you?" Stefan asked snarkily as he kept his eyes carefully on me, and then moved slightly closer toward where I sat on the sofa. I took in a deep breath as the muscles in my neck began to ache painfully beneath my skin from holding my attention so tightly on the screen before me, and then my eyes began to burn for some unknown reason inside of my head.

"Do I need a reason to want to come back to my home, and see my favorite sibling?" Damon asked as I could feel his eyes on me studying me carefully, but no matter how much that I wanted to turn my head, I fought his strong pull every step of the way.

"I am your only sibling, Damon." Stefan replied tensely as he slid his hand under the blanket that was over us, and then gently squeezed my knee in his strong grip. All of my muscles tensed as I suddenly heard words spinning around inside of my head that I didn't feel as if I had put there.

_Look at me._

"Yeah well, beggars can't be choosers, brother. Hello, Elena." Damon said in a velvety tone that seemed to deepen even more than usual as his last two words escaped his perfect lips. I swallowed as I slowly felt my head turn toward him without the permission of my brain, and then my heart begin to hammer violently inside of my chest as I finally met his beautiful crystal blue eyes.

"Hello, Damon. How is…everything?" I stuttered as I suddenly saw bright vivid images from the many dreams that I had experienced over the past week flash before my eyes, and immediately cause my skin to heat to nearly the point of boiling from their exposure. Damon smiled as he tilted his head slightly to the side, and then carefully narrowed his gaze.

"It's all rainbows and sunshine for me. How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while." He said slowly as his icy blue stare immediately locked in tightly on mine, and quickly pulled me into their vortex of chaos that only they ever could.

"Everything has been great. Stefan and I are watching _Gone with The Wind_ for history class." I replied quickly as I pushed a few strands of my hair behind my ear, and then licked my suddenly dry lips. Damon nodded as he watched me fidget carefully, and then crossed one of his legs over the other on top of the table in front of him.

"Well, nothing better than good old Hollywood lies and deception to properly show you what history is all about." He said with a painfully sexy grin as he lifted his hand to the side of his face and then ran his index finger slowly over his bottom lip. Goosebumps broke out over my skin immediately at the seductive motion of Damon's hand, and then suddenly an image of me clutching the sheets of my bed flashed into my mind without my permission or intended desire.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I said quickly as I pushed myself up to my feet before I realized what I was even doing, and then I took a few steps away from my seat on the sofa next to Stefan moving quickly toward the entryway.

"Are you alright, Elena?" Stefan asked as he stood up behind me with a look of slight concern, and also what appeared to be immense agitation on his face. I nodded slowly as I watched Damon smile out of the corner of my eye, and then run his eyes hungrily over my form.

"Yeah, I will be right back." I said quickly, and then before anyone could say anything else, I moved as fast as I could toward the bathroom, and far away from Damon's hypnotizing eyes.

I stood in complete silence for a few painfully long minutes in the upstairs bathroom of the Salvatore Boarding House, and desperately attempted to reason with my reflection as if it were a separate person. My strange obsession with the elder Salvatore was beginning to become quite insane, and I knew now that it definitely needed to stop. There was no way in hell that feeling as completely out of control as I felt whenever I was anywhere near Damon was any sort of healthy, and if I didn't come to my senses soon, I would most likely be locked up before graduation. I knew that I needed to pull myself together and focus on the brother that was kind, caring, and didn't look at me as if he wanted to eat me for dinner, but for some reason my mind kept fighting me. I needed to focus on Stefan, and it was as simple as that…no matter what my idiotic brain had to say about it.

Finally, after mentally yelling at myself for a good ten minutes, I eventually splashed some cold water onto my face, and then slowly opened up the bathroom door to once again return downstairs. However, when I did finally open the door, I realized that going back downstairs might not have been my host's original intention.

"Stefan?" I asked as I stepped out of the bathroom to find my history partner standing just a few feet away from me, and leaning casually against the opposing wall. Stefan smiled as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, and then nodded his head slowly toward the other end of the hallway.

"I, um, just thought that maybe…you would like to see my room." He said slowly with a smile on his face that told me that he definitely wanted to do _way_ more than show me where he slept. I swallowed as I felt my mind scream for me to go back downstairs, but then quickly decided that since my mind had been messing with me unforgivingly for the past two weeks, that just maybe I would stop listening to it for tonight.

"Sure, lead the way." I said with a smile, as Stefan held out his hand toward me kindly. I nodded as I slowly slipped my hand into his, but then quickly felt unease wash over me the second that we started to move down the hall. _You can do this, Elena. Going to Stefan's bedroom is much better than doing the nasty with his brother inside of your head like you have been for the past week._

Once we finally made it to the end of the hall where Stefan's room just so happened to be, I finally let out a deep breath and attempted to calm my nerves. I smiled as I looked around the quite expansive darkened bedroom that now sat before me, and quickly realized that Stefan's bedroom was just as I thought it would be. Countless books were stacked in neat piles over the many surfaces surround me, clothes were neatly hung inside of a large walk in closet, and Stefan's tan messenger bag from school was hung carefully beside his desk just across from a large oak dresser scattered with multiple antique looking framed pictures. There were a few unlit candles placed sparsely throughout the room, and then a pile of CD's sitting just beside his large queen sized bed in another incredibly neat tall stack. _Wait, who still listened to CD's?_

"Do you want to have a seat?" Stefan asked from the edge of his bed where he now sat just as he stretched out his hand toward me, and then nodded gently in my direction. I smiled as I nodded in return and then slowly made my way toward him. _This feels wrong…_

"I like your room. It's very…neat." I said as I swallowed thickly, and then eventually sat down just next to Stefan on top of his lush cream colored sheets. Stefan nodded as he leaned slightly closer toward me. _Go back downstairs, Elena._

"Thank you." He said as he slowly reached out, and moved my hair slightly away from my face. I smiled as I felt his cool touch gently caress my skin, and then felt shivers go up my spine as I felt his breath hit softly against my cheek. _This is fine. I can do this. Stefan is a nice guy. Damon is the one that is scary…right?_

"I like you a lot, Elena. I think you know that." Stefan said softly as his lips gently touched the side of my ear, and one of his hands slipped onto my jean clad thigh. I swallowed as I felt my stomach knot tightly inside of me causing my muscles to ache, and my legs to begin to slightly shake against the bed.

"I like you too, Stefan. You are one of the nicest guys that I have ever met." I whispered as I turned my head slightly toward him, and then suddenly met his emerald eyes that were staring intensely into mine.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked softly as he studied my expression intensely. My mind screamed at me to tell him no as he watched me, but I ignored its rants as it had not served me so well as of lately.

"Sure." I whispered as I looked at him, and then before I could say anything else, Stefan's lips slowly touched mine in our first kiss causing my heart to pound painfully fast inside of me.

Something was wrong, and I knew it. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I could feel it and it was incredibly strong. As Stefan kissed my lips the screaming inside of my mind became louder with every passing second, and my skin seemed to begin to crawl as his touch became even more intense. At first, I attempted to kiss him back and pretend that the incredibly creepy feelings that were quickly moving over me did not at all exist, but after a few moments of attempting to ignore the roaring hurricane inside of me, I eventually began to pull away and finally acknowledge my terrified brain.

"Stefan, I don't think…" I started as I pulled my lips away from Stefan's, and then tried to put some much needed space between us on his bed. Stefan shook his head as he quickly closed the space that I had just made between us, and then started to kiss down the side of my jaw.

"Shh…it's okay, Elena." He whispered against my skin as his kisses became more intense, and then his mouth began moving down the side of my neck just as his arms locked tightly around my now shaking frame. The screaming in my brain instantly became louder. _Get downstairs, Elena._

"No, Stefan, it's not." I said as I tried to then twist in the opposite direction of where he sat, but no matter where I moved it felt as if I could not escape. Soon, Stefan's arms were locked painfully tight around my body caging me against him, and his breath was hot against my skin in a way that made my stomach sick. _I had to get out of there._

"Just relax…your heart is beating so fast." He moaned against the side of my neck as he continued kissing me, but by this time I was no longer interested in playing nice.

"Stop, Stefan. I want to stop." I said as I pushed my hands roughly against his chest, but even as I pressed against him as hard as I could he would not budge no matter what I tried. Before I knew it Stefan had me pushed back onto the bed behind me, and was sucking on the side of my neck as if we were thirteen at our first boy girl party.

"Just relax." He whispered as his mouth opened slightly further against my skin. I shook my head as I felt panic beginning to quickly overcome me, but then something happened that even I had not expected. Something happened that made even the almost date rape situation that I seemed to be living in, pale in comparison to its extreme pain, and also complete surprise.

Just as Stefan had finally completely positioned his strong body over mine, I suddenly felt the painful tear of something sharp against the side of my neck. At first I thought that I had imagined it, but after a few seconds of the pain quickly intensifying, I knew that it was definitely real. My eyes flew open widely in a second, and just as I felt the sting of what felt like an animal's teeth sinking roughly into my delicate skin, I quickly lifted my leg up from under Stefan's thigh, and pushed my three inch heel as hard as I could into his groin.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Stefan moaned as he rolled back onto his knees slightly, giving me just enough time to slip out from underneath him and move as fast as I could toward his bedroom door. I could hear Stefan suddenly moving quickly behind me, but no matter how terrified I was, I forced myself to keep running. I ran as fast as I could down the long hallway before me, and I didn't stop until I reached the top of the stairs. I felt tears beginning to burn in my eyes as I finally got the door to my escape in my fearful sights, and then I suddenly felt my breathing begin to slow as I saw another man move into my view. _Damon…_

_**Damon's POV:**_

The ear piercing sound of a woman's screams echoed throughout the entire first floor of my home with a loud high pitched screech just after I had finally poured my third glass of bourbon, and just before I had planned to head out into town in order to look for someone tasty to eat. I immediately recognized the scream to (of course) be Elena's, and as soon as the loud noise had completely left her lips, I found myself at the bottom of the staircase waiting for whatever unknown horror that was about to come my way. I immediately heard Stefan cursing loudly from the door of his bedroom, and then within seconds I saw Elena appear at the top of the staircase with tears in her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and her rich delicious smelling crimson blood flowing down the side of her long neck. _Jesus Christ, Stefan, what the fuck did you do?_

"Elena, what's wrong?" I asked in the calmest and authoritative voice that I could muster just as I watched Elena release what appeared to be a sigh of relief, and then suddenly clutch the side of her bleeding neck.

"Damon, he…he…I think he bit me…or cut me or something. I don't know what happened. I'm bleeding so much…" She mumbled through her tears as she stood shaking at the top of the staircase, and then turned to look behind her just before her eyes widened in complete fear.

"It's okay, Elena. Just come here." I said as I motioned toward her with my hands in an overly affectionate manner, and then plastered a comforting smile onto my face. Elena nodded slowly as she shakily began to make her way toward me, and then she quickly picked up her speed just as I heard Stefan's footsteps moving faster down the hall.

"You have to help me, Damon, please. It hurts so much." She cried as she finally reached my arms, and then threw herself against my chest just as Stefan appeared at the top of the staircase. I wrapped my arms tightly around her shaking small frame, and then pulled her carefully against my body.

"Stefan, what the hell did you do?" I asked my brother tensely as I lifted my gaze up toward the idiot with blood all over his lips standing like a deer in the headlights, and looking like a complete fucking lunatic. Stefan ran his fingers nervously through his hair as he began fidgeting where he stood, and then shrugged his shoulders in what appeared to be disbelief.

"I don't know what happened, Damon. Just let me compel her, and everything will be fine." He said as he took a quick step off of the second floor landing onto the stair below him causing Elena to jump slightly against me, and then dig her nails deeply into the skin of my back. _This is what happens when you agree to be involved in plans that were created by fucking children._

"You don't know what happened, Stefan? It looks like you snacked on your project, and now she is freaking the fuck out. Don't you know by now that you should compel _before_ you eat?" I asked as I kept my eyes on my brother that continued to move slowly toward where I stood, and then I felt Elena lift her head slowly toward mine.

"What are you two talking about? What the hell are…?" She mumbled as tears began to flow faster down her face, and then she suddenly began to pull slightly against my hold on her. I tightened my grip around her body as I narrowed my gaze at my brother. _Jesus, this was going to be a long fucking night._

"Stefan, it's time to make a very important decision that I had assumed we would not have to make until slightly later on down the road. You can either compel her or kill her. Those are your two options because if I let her go, she is going to shout vampire from the fucking rooftops, and then we are going to be dodging stakes left and right. Pick quickly brother, tick tock." I said as held Elena against me even as she began to fight me harder, and then nodded toward Stefan. Stefan finally made his way to the bottom of the stairs in front of me, and then shook his head quickly.

"I'm not killing her, Damon, not yet. Elena, look at me." Stefan said as he stepped closer toward Elena causing her to scream once again, and then strangely tighten her grip on me just before burying her face into the thick material of my navy colored button down shirt. _Well that was interesting._

"Don't let him touch me! I will do anything just please don't let him touch me." She screamed through her tears as she sobbed violently against my chest, and then pressed her body tightly to mine moving further away from Stefan's reach. Stefan stared down at Elena in complete confusion and then suddenly what appeared to be blind rage. He let out a deep sigh, and then slowly lifted his eyes up toward mine.

"I'm not the only monster in this house, Elena. The bastard that you are clinging to has a body count larger than your entire high school." He growled as he leaned down toward Elena's ear, and then balled his fists tightly at his sides. Elena's sobs became louder as she tightly closed her eyes, but interestingly enough she still did not pull away from me. _This was really fucking bizarre._

"Alright, that is enough name calling of the brother that I should point out, has not made any women run from him in fear tonight. Now, Stefan, please go upstairs." I said as I began to stroke my hand down the length of Elena's long brown hair, and then nodded toward the staircase as I watched my brother carefully. Stefan once again shook his head defiantly. _Fucking child._

"No, you are not killing her, Damon, not yet. Just let me compel her." He said as he took another small angry step forward causing Elena to cringe against me in what appeared to be complete terror. I rolled my eyes as I stared at my brother, and then tightened my grip on the woman in my arms that was pressed so tightly against me that my body was beginning to warm from the pressure of her intense body heat.

"I am not going to kill her, Stefan, stop being so fucking dramatic. I am going to make her feel all better, and then I am going to take her the fuck home. Now, be a good boy, and go upstairs." I said sarcastically as my last words came out slightly through my teeth, and my eyes widened at my brother. Stefan hesitated for a moment in front of me, and then finally he reluctantly turned around and without another word finally returned upstairs.

"Please, don't let him kill me, Damon." Elena cried out against me as she wiped her face on my shirt causing me to immediately roll my eyes, and then release a slightly annoyed heavy breath. _This shirt costs more than your entire fall wardrobe for Christ Sakes, Elena._

"No one is killing anyone, sweetheart. Just look at me, okay?" I soothed quietly as I dropped my hand from Elena's head, and then allowed her to lift her gaze slowly up to mine. I sighed as I looked into her large chocolate brown eyes that were filled with tears, and then carefully wiped a few streams of moisture from her skin with the pad of my thumb.

"Is he really a vampire?" She asked in a shaky innocent voice as her eyes slowly locked in completely on mine, and her fingers began to tangle into the material of my shirt. I smiled as I tilted my head to the side, and then softly touched the side of her face once again with my hand. _Why did it feel this good to have her against me?_

"Yes, he is, Elena." I said softly as I traced the soft curve of her jaw with my fingertips, and held her gaze tightly with mine. Elena swallowed nervously as she kept her eyes locked on mine.

"He said that he wasn't the only monster. Does that mean that you are too?" She asked as I felt her body begin to shake slightly harder in my arms, and her lips begin to tremble slightly against her teeth. I nodded as I ran my thumb over the fullness of her soft bottom lip.

"Yes, I am, Elena." I whispered as I waited for her to scream once again, but oddly enough she remained completely silent. _Was I already compelling her without even realizing it?_

"Why am I not afraid of you?" Elena asked in an innocent and confused voice as she stared up into my eyes curiously. I tilted my head slightly to the side almost offended by her words, and then smiled slightly once I completely took in her beautiful face.

"I have no fucking idea." I whispered as I watched her carefully. Elena swallowed as she slipped one of her hands down away from my shirt, and then returned it to the wound that was still bleeding heavily on the side of her neck.

"My neck really hurts." She whispered as she winced against the pain as soon as her hand came in contact with her marred olive skin. I kept my eyes on hers as I avoided the delicious blood that covered her succulent flesh, and then nodded slowly in her direction.

"I can make you feel better, Elena. Would you like me to make you feel better?" I asked in a soft voice that I had forgotten that I had always had as I watched her. Elena nodded slowly as she swallowed thickly inside of her throat.

"Yes, Damon." She whispered as her eyes stayed locked on mine, and her heart once again began to slow inside of her chest. I nodded.

"You will come with me, and you will not be afraid." I whispered as I felt my strong gaze beginning to pull her conscious against mine, and my influence beginning to wash completely over her delicate human system.

"I will come with you, and I will not be afraid." She repeated back to me in a monotone voice, and then I watched carefully as her stare slowly started to glaze over.

"Follow me." I whispered as I slowly released my grip on Elena's body, and then took a few careful steps backward. Elena nodded in silence as took a slow step toward me, and then she obediently followed me down the large main hallway and back into my home's parlor.

Once in the safe confines of the warmed parlor, I slowly sat down in one of my favorite leather lounge chairs, and then lifted my eyes up toward Elena. She had settled directly in front of where I sat, and she stared down at me with innocent confused eyes as she seemed to await her next instruction. I smiled to myself as I watched her fidget before me, and then I finally released a heavy breath.

"Sit down, Elena." I said sternly as I nodded toward her carefully. Elena nodded in obedience, and then quickly sat down on the edge of my thigh. I let out another deep breath as I felt a strange excitement wash over me at the power of my influence over this young girl, and the potential that fact could possibly have in my favor. _Power was the most dangerous drug that I had ever been addicted to._

"I'm bleeding a lot, Damon." Elena said slowly as she reached up once again toward her neck, and then covered her large open wound with the palm of her shaking hand. I nodded slowly as I swallowed thickly against the hunger that was rising quickly inside of me, and then focused my eyes back on Elena's in order to complete my forced task at hand.

"Yes, you are. You and Stefan had some wine upstairs, and then you fell and hurt yourself pretty badly." I answered as I held her eyes with mine making sure that my words stayed with her, and that my influence was in complete control of her. Elena nodded as she watched me.

"Yeah, we shouldn't have been drinking. Do you have some Tylenol or something?" She asked sweetly as she moved slightly closer toward my torso, and then tightened her grip on her neck. I smiled as I slid one of my arms around the back of Elena's body, and then rested my hand on the soft curve of her hip.

"I have something that will work a little bit better than Tylenol, Elena." I said as I slowly lifted my free hand up toward my mouth, and then carefully bit down deeply into my wrist until I felt my cool skin break beneath the sharpness of my fangs. Elena's eyes immediately widened in surprise at what I could only imagine was an incredibly unfamiliar sight, and then her breathing immediately began to once again pick up.

"Don't be afraid, Elena. It is medicine." I said as I kept my eyes locked tightly on hers until the fear finally disappeared from her face, and then I lifted my hand slightly closer toward where she sat on top of me. Elena slowly nodded as her breathing began to eventually once again even out, and then she ran her tongue slowly over her still trembling beautiful lips.

"Okay." She whispered softly as she stared down at the deep crimson colored blood that was beginning to pool on the inside of my wrist, and then bit down carefully on her bottom lip. I smiled as I saw a very familiar look shimmering in her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. _Hunger…odd for a human._

"Drink, Elena." I whispered as I watched her staring down intensely at my skin. Elena hesitated for a moment as her eyes slowly returned to mine, but after I nodded slightly at her in encouragement, she slowly dipped her head down toward my wrist, and then eventually touched her hungry mouth to my skin.

It had been quite some time since I had offered up my blood to a human, but even when I had done it years before, I knew that it had never felt quite like this. The second that Elena's full sensuous lips touched the self-created wound on my wrist, I immediately felt my mind quickly spin completely out of control. The feeling of her tender mouth drinking in the life force that had flowed through my veins for over one hundred and forty-five years was mind altering, and the soft sounds that escaped from her throat were more than just simply intoxicating as she continued to feed. The soft wet feeling of her tongue pressed against the opening of my wound was painfully erotic, and the delicate way that she sucked hungrily at my flesh caused a need to rise inside of me that I had never in my existence ever felt before.

"Fuck." I moaned breathlessly as I looked down at Elena's lips moving slowly over my skin, and suddenly felt my dick harden painfully beneath my dark jeans. Elena's long fingers slid around the sides of my arm where her young mouth fed, and her grip on me became incredibly strong as she groaned seductively against my skin.

"Mmm…" She moaned as her lips parted slightly further, and her passionate grip tightened on me once again. All of my muscles contracted painfully beneath my skin as I felt my blood moving faster through my veins and quicker into Elena's waiting hungry mouth, and with every drop of me that she took in, it caused me to want her to consume me even more.

"Elena…" I groaned as I tightened my hold around her slender back, and then carefully pulled her from her upright position down onto the hollow of my now heaving chest. Elena moaned as she snuggled against the sudden warmth of my body, and then she pressed her lips even tighter to the flesh of my slowly healing skin.

"That's enough, sweetheart." I whispered through my teeth as my jaw tightened and I felt the muscles in my body begin to twitch in ecstasy causing my dick to throb painfully in need. Elena groaned at my gentle request, and then slowly pulled back slightly from my now shaking arm. She left her head softly against the hard plane of my collarbone, and then carefully began to lick the remaining blood from my skin as if she were attempting to lovingly clean my now almost completely healed wound. I closed my eyes as I reveled in the feeling of her attending to my body in a way that no other woman ever had, and then I gently began to stroke her hair as she moved.

After a few moments of watching Elena carefully cleanse my now seemingly starving overheated skin, she finally pulled away from my arm and lifted her gaze up to mine. The look in her soft brown eyes was entrancing as she seemed to now suddenly hold a power that only a few moments before she never had. Hunger radiated from her lust filled stare as she watched me carefully, and her hands still gripped my arm tightly in what felt like completely delicious desperation. I did not speak as I slowly lifted my hand up to the softness of her beautiful face, but I did release a shakily breath as I finally sat up slightly from the back of my chair. Elena's heart began to beat faster inside of her chest as I slowly neared her, and then her breathing immediately began to quicken once my lips nearly met hers. Her eyes locked in on mine as I brushed my mouth softly against hers, and then her nails dug deeply into the flesh of my forearm just as my tongue slid past my now completely starved lips. Slowly, I glided my tongue over the beautifully crimson stained flesh of her mouth, and then hungrily I licked my blood from her delicious kiss. I sucked Elena's bottom lip into my mouth slowly after I had cleaned her succulent flesh carefully with my tongue, and then I felt my desire to claim her completely nearly take over my deranged mind just as I finally tasted an almost uncontainable power begin to radiate from her tantalizing young lips.

"Damon." I heard a man's voice suddenly call out from across the room jarring me immediately from what had felt like some sort of lust driven trance, and quickly cause me to pull away from Elena and hit the back of my chair with a thud.

"Didn't I tell you to stay upstairs?" I asked breathlessly as I lifted my eyes up annoyingly toward Stefan that now stood only a few feet away from me, and was staring down at me with his judgy emerald green eyes. Stefan crossed his arms carefully over his chest, and then shifted his weight to his left side.

"It's late, Elena should probably get home." He said in a stern tone as he watched me. I stared up at him in confusion as I didn't quite understand how the man that had lost complete control only a few moments before and nearly eaten the women that was now sitting on my lap had any right to tell me what to do at all, but then finally nodded my head in incredibly unusual surrender.

"Yes, she should. Elena, would you like me to take you home?" I asked as I quickly dropped the emotion from my voice as I moved swiftly out of my chair and subsequently nearly caused Elena to almost fall onto the floor in front of me. Elena shook her head quickly as she straightened herself up, and then licked her now completely clean full lips with her tongue . _I needed to taste her again._

"Um, no, I brought my own car, but thank you." She said as she looked down toward the floor in what appeared to be embarrassment, and then began to tap her foot nervously against the carpet beneath her. I nodded as I took a step closer toward her, and then slipped one of my hands under her chin just before I jerked her head up much less gently that I had touched her only a few moments before.

"Elena, you will go home and you will immediately go to bed. You came over and watched a movie with Stefan tonight, and then you left shortly after it was over. You won't remember anything else but that." I said quickly as I held her gaze tightly with mine. Elena nodded as her pupils dilated quickly, and then her breathing immediately began to slow inside of her lungs. I nodded in response as I released my hold on her, and then watched in silence as she retrieved her bag from beside one of my sofas, and then quickly made her way quietly out of my house. I finally released the breath that I hadn't realized I been holding once I eventually heard my front door close, and then I carefully turned my eyes back toward my brother that was still staring at me.

"Quit leering at me, Stefan." I said tensely as I began to move toward the other side of the room closer toward the bar that I now desperately wanted to completely empty. Stefan nodded as he dropped his gaze toward the floor.

"Be careful, Damon. I saw that look in your eye when I walked into the room. That was a very familiar look." He said as he took a few closer toward me. I sighed as I picked up the tumbler of bourbon that I had poured the hour before, and then drank it quickly in one large gulp before I spoke.

"I don't care what you saw, brother. You should be thanking me right now. I just cleaned up your mess once again, and now you still have the chance to carry out your idiotic plan just like you wanted. Maybe this time you won't almost screw it up." I said as I quickly sat my glass tumbler back down onto the bar in front of me, and then moved toward the parlor entryway which was thankfully closer to the front door.

"Don't let history repeat itself, Damon. She will wreck you just like Katherine did, and then you will waste another hundred and forty-five years trying to get your life back together." Stefan warned as he ran his fingers casually through his hair, and then narrowed his gaze toward me. I tightened my jaw as I slowly turned back toward my brother, and lowered my eyes.

"No one will wreck me, Stefan. Not Katherine, not you, and especially not this Elena girl. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a very late dinner to catch." I said as I faked a smile at my brother, and then ground my teeth so tightly together that my jaw ached from the intense motion. Stefan nodded slowly as he watched me, and then lifted his hands in some sort of mock surrender.

"Enjoy." He said carefully. I nodded and then quickly made my way down the main hallway and out of the front door toward my car. I had to get out of that house before what had just happened a few moments before completely sunk in to my already nearly completely ravaged mind. I knew that I should have listened to my gut the month before, and never agreed to come back to the fucking hell hole that was _Mystic Falls_. But, as I took off out of my driveway and unwillingly drove in the direction of Elena Gilbert's home, I realized something very important that I necessarily hadn't before. There was something very different about the girl that had fed from my wrist only a few minutes before, and even though I knew that I shouldn't pursue her any further, I definitely knew that I was going to do it anyway. Stefan could torture Elena in anyway that he wanted from this point on. I had very different plans for the Gilbert girl, and to be completely honest, my plans were a whole hell of a lot more fun.

_**Alright, so what did everyone think? Sorry this chapter took longer to get out but as you could see it was a little longer and I tried to get the details just right. Thank you everyone for the reviews, for reading and for the feedback. I appreciate everyone following, and I really hope that you are enjoying it so far. Sorry, for an error and for the long sentences, I am working on it I swear. Please let me know what you think, and please please review. It means a lot to me. Thanks for reading, have a great night! -VampTramp83**_


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